The House of Commons recently debated the future of the Transforming Care programme[1]. Concerns were raised that the Programme was unlikely to realise the ambitions set out in the Building the Right Support strategy before it ends in 2019. These ambitions are to develop more community services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism, who […]

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 […]

At Ridouts, we advise providers about how they can challenge draft inspection reports, Warning Notices, Notices of Proposals and Decisions – we challenge CQC’s findings; the incorrect facts; and the incorrect interpretation of facts and judgments.  In addition, we are often asked how a provider can counter what staff have told CQC during an inspection […]

The week commencing 14 May 2018 was National Mental Health Awareness Week. Amongst the many events organised to mark this, the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group and CLOSER (a research centre bringing together the UK’s leading longitudinal studies) held a joint seminar on ‘Tackling mental health problems in children and young people: the importance of early […]