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Quality in Care A L egal Perspective Caroline Barker Ridouts LLP. The Role of CQC. March 2012 Public Accounts Committee report on CQC. Criticisms include: failure to measure its own success and the impact it work has on driving up quality. Confusion over role
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Quality in Care • A Legal Perspective Caroline Barker Ridouts LLP
The Role of CQC • March 2012 Public Accounts Committee report on CQC. Criticisms include: • failure to measure its own success and the impact it work has on driving up quality. • Confusion over role • NB: CQC Response to consultation proposals: Judgement framework and Enforcement Policy March 2012 • CQC website clear what its role is
What does the law require? • Health and Social Care Act 2008 • Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 • Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 • Essential Standards
Drives to improve quality • Reputation and reputational damage likely to be a big drive • Review of Compliance reports • Provider profiles • Good Care Guide and other “TripAdvisor” style websites • Fear of CQC press releases
Compliance Reviews and Reports • Increase in number of inspections • Focus on a minimum of 5 Outcomes relating to the 16 key Outcomes • Quality Risk Profiles to continue • Provider Compliance Assessments will no longer be requested
Compliance Reviews and Reports • Providers will be “Compliant” or “Non-Complaint” • No longer be “Compliant but with minor concerns” • “Improvement actions” scrapped • Improvements for minor concerns can be suggested but no action plan will be requested • Should be fair and accurate, however…..
Provider profiles • Described by CQC as a “clear system of ticks and crosses” • Does not differentiate between Minor, Moderate or Major concern
The Good Care Guide • Launched in February 2012 • An adult care and childcare sector “TripAdvisor” • Potential threat to reputation and business • Run by a private company operating care services
The Good Care Guide • Providers can subscribe to GCG for £60 per service per year • Alerts providers to a post being made – already in public domain • By subscribing, also signing up to GCG Terms and Conditions which exclude: • “all and any losses, liabilities, claims, damages, expenses or costs (whether arising as a consequence of negligence or otherwise) arising in connection with…the inaccuracy, incompleteness or tardiness of any information supplied through the service”
The Good Care Guide • “Good Care Guide has built in robust processes to ensure that only users of care comment and providers can challenge false statements” – United for All Ages • Links are provided to CQC website and latest inspection report – however, how many people will investigate further if service is classed as “Bad” on GCG? • Providers should do own monitoring
CQC Press releases • Often out of date • Is this an incentive or does it have the opposite effect?
Quality – a legal perspective • Law provides a minimum acceptable standard • But there are external factors that will drive up quality over and above this • Heading to an increase in service user involvement • FindMeGoodCare.co.uk • HealthWatch (England and Local)
Caroline Barker Partner Ridouts LLP 0207 317 0340 caroline@ridout-law.com