Star ratings ‘to be kept’ for social care

The Commission for Social Care Inspection has denied that the
abandonment of star ratings by the Healthcare Commission will be
replicated in social care.

The Healthcare Commission announced this week that new measures of
inspection were being consulted on and would replace the current
star-ratings system for NHS trusts after next July’s results.

It said inspections would be increasingly carried out in
partnership with other inspectorates and would take into account
wider measures of satisfaction and progress. The new system will be
based on a broader range of seven core standards, including the
care environment and patient focus.

However, a CSCI spokesperson said the changes in the Healthcare
Commission’s methodology were “not going to affect” the way CSCI
ratings were reached.

“Our star ratings are measured differently anyway. They have been
focused on the policy of care and on various experiences,” she
added.

Welcoming the Healthcare Commission’s proposed new system of
inspection, Mental Health Foundation chief executive Andrew
McCulloch said: “They are acknowledging precisely the sorts of
criticisms which have been made – not being sensitive to quality
and not being sensitive to the patient’s view,” he said.

• This week’s readers’ question asks: Should star ratings be
  abolished in social care as they are to be in health? To make your
  vote count, go to www.communitycare.co.uk