Registration may hit nursing homes

The registration arrangements for care homes will lead to fewer
nursing homes, according to care home organisations.

New draft regulations covering the transfer of the inspection
and regulation of care home providers from councils to the National
Care Standards Commission (NCSC) were issued last week. But the
regulations have come under fire from both the Registered Nursing
Home Association and the National Care Homes Association.

The two organisations have a number of concerns including the
fact that under the new arrangements, care homes will not be able
to be registered to provide both nursing and residential care, a
move that could lead to homes opting for residential status
only.

Fears have also been voiced over the principle of
“non-regression”, which makes it a condition of registration that
providers keep room sizes at levels no lower than those in place at
the end of March next year until the transitional period on space
standards ends in 2007.

In addition, providers will have to supply criminal record
checks on staff by April 2002 to the NCSC.

Meanwhile, NCSC chairperson Anne Parker announced the
appointment of 14 key posts this week, including directors for
children’s rights, adult services, private and voluntary health
care, plus eight regional directors. The children’s rights director
will be Roger Morgan, currently chief inspector with Oxfordshire
Council; the adult services director will be Heather Wing, now head
of inspection and registration at Surrey Council; and the private
and voluntary health care director will be Ros Gray, acting head of
nursing policy and practice at Nuffield Hospitals.

Draft Care Standards Act 2000 (Commencement (England) and
Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2001; from www.doh.gov.uk/ncsc/carestandardsorder.htm