Half of nursing homes and NHS hospitals are failing to give patients safe and effective treatment, a report has found.
The Care and Quality Commission (CQC) found that just 51% of NHS hospitals and the same percentage of nursing homes were fully compliant with a standard calling for "effective, safe and appropriate care" for patients.
The health and social care watchdog had "moderate concerns" about 26% of NHS hospitals and "major concerns" with 7% of NHS hospitals.
In its analysis of care in 2010/11, the regulator also found that 62% of NHS hospitals and 61% of nursing homes were meeting standards on handling medicines safety.
Meanwhile, 28% of the former and 29 per cent of the latter were failing to meet people's nutritional needs, it said.
But it said the NHS had made "significant progress" in eliminating mixed-sex wards and praised efforts at tackling superbugs.
CQC chairwoman Dame Jo Williams said the report provided "a valuable picture of people's experiences of access to care services, the choice and control that they have when using services, and the quality of the care that is provided".
"The next few years will see a changing landscape in care, but we are committed to maintaining a relentless focus on compliance with essential standards of safety and quality," she added.
