CQC update for adult social care providers
Repost of CQC Update
A regular update for providers and professionals working in adult social care.
27 April 2023
New interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care announced
In March we announced that Kate Terroni would be taking on the interim position of Deputy Chief Executive and stepping away from her role as Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care.
We are now pleased to let you know that James Bullion will be joining CQC as the new interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care. James will be leaving his current role as Director of Adult Social Services (DASS) in Norfolk to join CQC in the coming months.
James said, "I am delighted to be joining CQC to take up the Chief Inspector role. It's such an important time for CQC, councils, and people drawing on services as we strengthen the national assurance arrangements, and reform social care. I am grateful to Norfolk for supporting this, and hope to bring my experience and understanding of being a DASS as well as my national work as ADASS past president, and on social care discharge to the many talents in CQC."
Welcoming him, Kate Terroni, said, "It’s fantastic to have James join the team at the point we go live with our new powers on assurance, as an experienced DASS and having been involved with the development of our approach".
Because we all care: focus on people with a learning disability and autistic people
Because we all care is our joint public behaviour change campaign to encourage more people to share care experiences with CQC and Healthwatch England. To date it has driven over 90,000 people to share their experiences or those of a loved one.
We’ve launched a new phase of our campaign which focuses on understanding the experiences of people with a learning disability and autistic people. People with a learning disability and autistic people are more likely to experience poorer care and face inequalities, despite needing to use health and social care services regularly. Their needs are not always met by the system, leaving people and their loved ones feeling diminished or ignored. You can hear real-life experiences from our 7 ambassadors.
Help raise awareness by using our stakeholder toolkit and sharing the hashtag #BecauseWeAllCare on Twitter.
Update on national assessments of 'equity in access' quality statement
We recently wrote to integrated care system (ICS) leaders to update that we will be starting a national assessment of the equity in access quality statement. This will take place between April and July 2023.
This quality statement is part of our single assessment framework within the 'quality and safety' theme. The national assessment will provide an over view of how ICSs are working to support people to access the care, support and treatment they need, when they need it. It will also report on how ICSs are responding to inequalities of access across their populations.
We will review publicly available data and information - there is no requirement for ICSs to provide information to us. However, we are offering the opportunity for key members of ICSs to take part in virtual focus groups. Participation is voluntary and findings will contribute to the national assessment.
Adult social care (ASC) data enforcement commenced 1 April 2023
ASC providers who fail to submit their data through Capacity Tracker each month could be issued with a financial penalty by NHS Business Services Authority. There is guidance on how to comply with the information provisions in the Health and Care Act 2022 and how they will be enforced. If you have questions or need advice, contact the team at capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.uk.
To be compliant, providers must submit their data during the collection window. If you believe your service does not have a duty to provide data but have been approached by the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) delivery partners NHS Business Services Authority or North of England Commissioning Support to do so, please register, submit a 'nil' return and contact the Capacity Tracker team.
For assistance updating Capacity Tracker, or general advice and support, contact the Support Centre on 0191 691 3729 or via email necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net
Care Workforce Pathway call for evidence
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a call for evidence that will inform the development of a new Care Workforce Pathway for adult social care. The pathway will set out the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours needed to work in adult social care, as well as a clear career structure for the workforce.
DHSC plans to publish the first part of the Pathway, focusing on those in direct care roles, in the autumn and will work with the sector to implement it over the following months.
Find out more and share your views on the pathway, including what it should include, how it should be set out and how working in care and social care employers can be supported to use it. Visit the open consultation, which runs until 31 May 2023.
Data Security and Protection Toolkit deadline approaching
As a care provider you are entrusted with safeguarding the information you hold about the people in your care and colleagues you work with, regardless of whether you keep paper or digital records. You should complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit at least once a year to evidence you have good practices in place to protect people’s information. The deadline for 2022/23 is 30 June.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to access free, expert support from the official Better Security, Better Care support programme. Attend one of the national webinars,download and adapt a template policy, view the online guidance, call the national helpdesk, or access local tailored support.
Have your say via our CitizenLab Projects
We regularly consult on a range of projects, and you can have your say via CitizenLab – our online participation platform. Sign up today and you can share your ideas and comment on live projects.
We’re currently looking for feedback on:
How primary care providers can better accommodate the needs of autistic people using services.
The way we plan to present reports and ratings on our website.
Other news
We've recently published lots of information about our ongoing transformation. Watch the recordings of the webinars and learn more.
We’ve heard of an incident where a person apparently choked to death on a piece of food given to them by another person’s relative. It’s important to remind visitors and relatives not to share food or drinks with other people without checking first with staff. As well as a potential choking risk, there may also be allergies or contraindications to consider. You can see the learning from safety incidents document on caring for people at risk of choking on our website.
The updated Infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance supports the response to coronavirus (COVID-19). It also includes all information on COVID-19 testing in adult social care and details the testing regimes for eligible staff and residents and where outbreaks are suspected.
Join the Better Security, Better Care webinar on 11 May to find out what homecare services can do to reduce the risks and watch the programme’s latest video on cyber-attacks featuring Katie Thorn from Digital Social Care and Dr Jane Townson of the Homecare Association. Homecare providers can be particularly at risk from a cyber-attack as staff often use their own mobile phones and log in to potentially insecure Wi-Fi systems while out working on the field.
From 11 May 2023 we expect the Disclosure and Barring Service (the DBS) to return to pre-pandemic arrangements for processing DBS applications. Because this goes back to previous arrangements, we do not expect any new guidance to be issued for providers. Our interim COVID-19 guidance on DBS and other recruitment checks will also end on the same date. Meanwhile, this interim guidance links to information about this change.