
How Whistleblowing Can Negatively Affect Your Care Business – A Whistle Stop Tour On Whistleblowing
The 23 June was World Whistle-blower’s day, so it seemed timely to reflect on the subject, in particular a reminder of the law, updates to

Thoughts From A Health And Social Care Lawyer
Despite being an optimist I cannot help but think that the repeated claims for reform in health and social care fall in the to-do later

Government Proposes New Regulations Empowering CQC to Ensure Patient Visits in Care Settings
The Government is presently consulting on new regulations aimed at granting the Care Quality Commission (“CQC”) additional authority to oversee and enforce visitation arrangements by

The Capacity Tracker – Have you been submitting mandatory data monthly?
Providers who fail to provide monthly data to the North England Care System Support Unit in line with the requirements of section 277A of the

Concern Over CQC’s Cursory Responses To Warning Notice Representations
In recent times, we have noticed that the CQC’s responses to warning notice representations have become very light touch. Reasoned responses to Provider’s detailed submissions

The Importance Consumer Law Obligations in Social Care – Equality
This is the second of my four-part series on the importance of consumer law obligations and their relevance to health and social care providers. In

The Attention Of One, May Lead To The Attention Of Many
The information gathered by the CQC during a period of inspection has the potential to be passed to other public regulatory bodies. In certain environments,

What To Expect: CQC Inspections Of GP Practices Throughout 2023
The last-minute delay in the implementation of the CQC’s new inspection methodology in December 2022 and the temporary pause in CQC routine inspections of GP

Rating Suspension – A Lazy Way For The CQC To Regulate?
I first came across the concept of Suspension of Ratings (not suspension of registration, which is the concept most will be familiar with) in 2019.

Court Permits Top Up Fees In Dentistry. Will Social Care Follow Suit?
Background In the recent case of The General Dental Council v Lucy Jane Williams [2023] EWCA Civ 481, the Court of Appeal confirmed the National

Professional Discipline: ‘The Burden Of Old Cases And Timeliness’
A Roundup of the Professional Standards Authority’s Performance Reviews for 2021/2022 It’s that time of the year again. The time when the Professional Standards Authority

The Power of Good Governance
The words “we received concerns…” can often be found in an inspection report from the CQC. These illusive and ill-defined ‘concerns’ often form the basis