‘Teething problems in regulators’ work’

Joint working between the Commission for Social Care Inspection and
the Healthcare Commission is proving difficult, particularly in
mental health, according to the CSCI.

At its board meeting last week, the CSCI’s director of quality,
performance and methods, Jonathan Phillips, said the two
regulators, both set up last April, were still experiencing
teething troubles in working together.

He said co-operation was better on older people than on mental
health because “it is on our terms”.

“The work around mental health is proving more difficult, but each
organisation is learning,” he added.

The board also heard that councils will receive a market profile of
care services in their areas in March or April, gleaned from the
CSCI’s inspection of providers.

The CSCI’s long-term aim is to use its assessments of providers to
rate councils’ commissioning functions.