CQC Publishes Guidance on New Government Care Regulations

The CQC have published guidance on The Fundamental Standards, the new care regulations issued by the Government that come into effect across England in April.

In preparation for this it is important that care providers across the country know the sorts of things that they can do to make sure they are meeting these new standards. In addition the CQC inspectors will be using new enforcement powers if they find that people in a care situation are not receiving the high-quality, safe and compassionate level of care that they deserve. As part of this care providers can be prosecuted for poor care without the inspectors having to issue a warning notice first or follow the current staged process of enforcement, allowing the CQC to react quickly to serious concerns.

Commenting on the regulations guidance and new enforcement policy, David Behan, Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission, said: “We now inspect services against the five key questions that matter most to people who use them – are they safe, caring, effective, responsive to people’s needs, and well-led. This helps our inspection teams to identify good care.

“When our inspection teams identify poor care, this guidance will help us to determine whether there is a breach in the new regulations and if so, what action to take. In some cases, this will mean we will use our powers to prosecute. We hope this helps providers in their preparations for April and to make sure that their services do not fall below acceptable levels of quality.”

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