Whilst catching up with several of my group care home clients recently, they all passed comment about the changes in respect of CQC registrations
In summary these changes include:
- Parent companies/groups are to be CQC registered for the first time with ‘live testing’ in 2018/19
- A new assessment framework for independent healthcare inspections from April 2018;
- A strong focus on ‘well-led’ (including at provider level) inspections always covering this process;
- Proposals for closer monitoring between inspections core service changes and rating some types of providers for the first time starting from June/July 2018.
The big question nursing and care home operators should therefore be asking is whether their own organisation is ready as the CQC’s third and final phase of regulation consultation sets out the changes in store for independent healthcare services, including further details about changes already in the pipeline with some new proposals around monitoring, inspection and rating.
In respect of registration, the change likely to have the biggest impact on the independent sector is the CQC’s plan for holding the overall leadership of corporate/group providers to account for the quality and safety of services delivered further down the organisational chain.
The CQC proposes to do this by revising its registration criteria to adjust how it defines a service provider, so this encompasses any organisation that can exercise direction and control over the quality and safety of services, rather than those which are directly delivering services, as is currently the case.
As usual we will have to wait some time, probably in the Spring, to find out what the new registration criteria will be, but the CQC has intimated the revised criteria will not require organisations with only a financial interest to be registered with the CQC.
The third and final CQC phase of regulation should be reviewed by nursing and care home providers with a view to ensuring that their business will be fit for purpose.
Colin Peacock
Business Advisor and Accountant to Nursing and Care Homes
