Review of social care bodies is an opportunity

The Department of Health’s review of the General Social Care Council, Skills for Care and the Social Care Institute for Excellence is seemingly being interpreted in some quarters as a fight for survival for the three organisations.

But this should not be the case. The review comes in the light of the personalisation agenda. This brings changes that will require greater not lesser input from the bodies charged with setting standards, identifying good practice and disseminating the best approaches throughout social care.

If these bodies are not doing all that can be done this review should identify the gaps and recommend measures to strengthen performance whether through additional funding, new remits or political support for the standards set. What it should not be is a scorched earth policy that rips down existing structures to start again. There is enough change in social care without a restructuring of the standards and regulatory framework.

This article is published in the 25 September edition of Community Care under the headline “Review is an opportunity”