Care Quality Commission opens for business

Reply

Mithran Posted: 1 Apr 2009 10:05 AM

rated by 0 users

The Care Quality Commission starts work today as the integrated regulator for health and social care, replacing the Commission for Social Care Inspection, Healthcare Commission and Mental Health Act Commission.

As a parting shot, CSCI chair Denise Platt has raised concerns about the CQC's potential to be an effective social care regulator, in an interview with Community Care, though CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower has given a staunch defence of the organisation.

This year the CQC will:-

• Produce a scored assessment of councils' adult social care performance.
• Continue with CSCI's regulation of adult care providers, providing a quality rating of those services it inspects.
• Begin the registration of NHS providers, initially covering performance on hospital-acquired infection.
• Develop a new registration system for health and social care that will be introduced from April 2010.
• Continue with MHAC's programme of visits to wards holding detained patients.

And carry out special reviews on:-

• The healthcare needs of people in care homes.
• The whole system of care for people who have a stroke and their carers.
• Meeting the physical health needs of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities in hospitals and residential homes.
• Health and social care for families with disabled children and young people.

Let us know what you think about the prospects for the new organisation.

Reply

cb replied on 1 Apr 2009 11:00 AM

rated by 0 users

 I'm concerned that the person in charge of the body responsible for inspecting the Mid-Staffordshire Hospital Foundation Trust has been put in charge of CQC. 

I'm concerned that Denise Platt seems to be able to defend her organisation that switched from twice yearly announced and unannounced inspections of care homes to now fewer than annual desk-based inspections which can consider a home to be 'good' even if no inspector has ever stepped foot inside one. 

I went to a so-called 'good' home last year. I was horrified by what I saw. I called CSCI and asked for the latest inspection report - I spoke to the inspection officer who admitted she had never actually been to that particular home and they had had a 'desk' inspection for the last 2 years because they were considered 'good'. 

How on earth is that a system we are supposed to have any kind of faith in? To be fair, I always considered the Mental Health Act Commission to do a lot of good work but if the people in charge are able to defend the way that the Healthcare Commission and CSCI have 'let slip' horrendous practice by poor inspection regimes then I worry.