Sweeping changes

From 1 April 2010 the Care Quality Commission will regulate health and adult social care under a new framework. Regulation under the Care Standards Act 2000 will cease from October this year and private and voluntary providers of adult social care will be regulated under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The final regulations are still subject to Parliament’s approval, but the Care Quality Commission’s advice is that private and voluntary providers should already be taking business decisions based on the new regulations.

The biggest change is for care home providers, because under the new system providers will be registered for each regulated activity they provide (for example, personal care) wherever that may be, rather than an individual service such as a care home.

The introduction of registration by reference to activity will avoid difficulties that have arisen in connection with schemes, which have been designed to promote more independent living with domiciliary care and support. Sometimes there has been a question mark over whether the care service should be registered as a care home under section three of the Care Standards Act 2000, even though the ethos of the scheme has been to promote greater independence among residents with a desire to let them have their own home.

If a provider is registered under the Care Standards Act 2000, it will not be possible to transfer that registration into the new system. Subject to final legislation, all private and voluntary providers of health and adult social care will need to apply for new registration by October 2010.

They will be able to start applying from 1 April 2010 and it will be illegal to provide a regulated activity without being registered after October 2010.

The regulated activities requiring registration include personal care, accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care, accommodation for people who require treatment for substance misuse and accommodation and personal care in the further education sector.

A provider can be registered for any number of activities and it will be usual to register for more than one. There will be an annual registration fee.

Providers will need to demonstrate that they can comply with a new set of standards being introduced for each regulated activity they provide at each location. The new standards will replace the national minimum standards and be based on outcomes rather than focused on systems and processes. There are 28 outcomes proposed at present, grouped into six key areas of personalised care; treatment and support; safeguarding and safety; suitability of staffing; quality and management; and suitability of management.

Linda Convery is a partners at Lewis Silkin linda.convery@lewissilkin.com

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