Anna Lemmer

The Latest CQC ‘Hot Topic’ – Staff Recruitment Records

At Ridouts, we have recently noticed that staff recruitment records have been a key area of focus for CQC inspectors particularly in relation to agency workers and workers from overseas. The CQC’s report titled, ‘The state of health care and adult social care in England 2022/23’ (published on 20 October 2023) highlighted concerns in relation …

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Prevention Of Future Death Reports In Relation To Young People With Autism

The BBC has carried out an investigation into the care provided to young people with Autism. As part of this, the BBC reviewed over 4,000 Prevention of Future Death (“PFD”) reports delivered in England and Wales over the past 10 years. The investigation identified that the Coroner had issued PDF reports in 51 cases which …

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Ofsted’s Latest Guidance On Placing Children Subject To Deprivation Of Liberty Orders In Unregistered Settings

On 14 August 2023, Ofsted published guidance for providers, social workers and commissioners on placing children who are subject to a deprivation of liberty order (“DoL”) in unregistered settings. The guidance titled, ‘Placing Children: deprivation of liberty orders’ (“Guidance”) should be read by providers who provide care to looked after children in the following settings: …

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Supreme Court decision clarifies the meaning of ’ordinary residence’ and determines who has responsibility for after-care services under section 117 of the MHA 1983

On 10 August 2023, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in R (on the application of Worcestershire County Council) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2023] UKSC 31 (“Worcestershire case”). Background to the Worcestershire case This case involved a person (“JG”) who suffers from treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder. JG was detained under …

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An Update In Relation To The CQC’s Registration Service

In January 2023, in recognition of the pressures faced by the NHS during the winter, the CQC published its ‘Response to winter pressures’ which involved the CQC adjusting its regulatory activity to, “enable health and social care staff to carry on providing safe, high-quality care over winter months in the face of existing pressures”. As a …

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What Are The Latest CQC ‘Hot Topics’?

At Ridouts, we have noticed that the latest ‘hot topics’ which CQC inspectors tend to focus on during inspections are as follows: Staff recruitment records Providers are required to ensure that their staff are fit and proper persons. Staff recruitment records should be robust and include; proof of identity, a criminal record certificate where required, references …

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The Importance Of Good Record Keeping In Your Care Business

Records are one of the main focus areas during a CQC inspection and one of the main sources of evidence that the CQC relies on when determining if a service is Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. It is therefore important that records are as accurate and detailed as they can be. In February 2023, …

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Joint Committee Publishes Final Report On The Draft Mental Health Bill 2022

On 19 January 2023, the Joint Committee published its final report on the draft Mental Health Bill 2022. The draft Bill was introduced following the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 (“MHA”) which was chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely in 2018. The Review made recommendations in relation to addressing the increase in …

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The CQC And Its Move Towards Imposing Conditions On Registration

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CQC introduced a risk-based inspection model and focused its inspection activity where service users were deemed to be at risk of harm. Since the introduction of this risk-based system, we have seen an overall increase in the CQC’s enforcement action. This has also been confirmed by the CQC’s Chief Executive Ian …

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