CQC inspections have, for years, been considered a “snap-shot” of a home/location on the day of the inspection.  CQC rock up, take a view of what they find, and then write a report and make a judgment on an appropriate rating. When challenging inspection report findings and ratings, sometimes our clients will provide us with evidence […]

On 24 August 2018 the HSJ wrote: The care quality watchdog has won an appeal to stop a private care provider increasing the number of beds for people with learning disabilities. The tribunal ruling has sparked fears that investors will not want to expand or set up units for fear of them being refused registration […]

A highly common safeguarding challenge within a care home is financial abuse. It has been a subject of news reports this year and remains a critical one within the media, Government and CQC. As a result, it is essential that care workers are alert to the types of financial abuse within a care home, so […]

CQC appointed its new Chief Executive to the Board, Ian Trenholm.  He is due to take over the role in July 2018 when Sir David Behan leaves.  Mr Trenholm started his career in the police service before moving on to roles including Chief Operating Officer at Defra and Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of […]

The magnitude of the Court of Appeal judgment in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad [2018] EWCA Civ 164 should not be underestimated by health and social care providers. This appeal considered the issue of backdated “sleep in” liabilities and whether “sleep in” workers were entitled to the National Minimum Wage (‘NMW’) […]

The 2018 Football World Cup was the first in history where live Video Assistant Referees (VAR) were brought in with the ambition of improving the quality or refereeing decisions.  It hoped to achieve this by bringing to the referee’s attention in real time points of play which might have eluded them otherwise.  CQC allows its […]

BUPA has been fined £3million following the death of a service user who contracted Legionnaires’ disease and died. This Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution is significant because it looks at large company fine levels. Ipswich Crown Court heard that the service user moved into a BUPA care home in March 2015 and died three […]

Last month CQC announced that they had updated their guidance on “How CQC monitors inspects and regulates adult social care services”. This document replaced the old Provider handbooks in November 2017. Of particular interest is the addition of a new section to the guidance setting out CQC’s position with regard to services repeatedly rated as […]

There has been a lot of media coverage on modern slavery and human trafficking in recent times, both criminal offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (‘the Act’).  It is important to be aware that modern slavery can take place in a wide range of employment sectors, including health and social care settings. This could […]