Articles & Publications

Drink and Drug News – A challenging relationship – While maintaining a productive relationship with CQC is essential, so is challenging any worrying issues on their draft reports, says Nicole Ridgwell”

Over the past year, one topic is a regular feature when substance misuse providers meet at conferences, at training events, and in the waiting rooms of law firms; that their CQC inspection reports are peppered with negative commentary. This commentary, according to providers, does not address their core services but the more tangential and arguably …

Drink and Drug News – A challenging relationship – While maintaining a productive relationship with CQC is essential, so is challenging any worrying issues on their draft reports, says Nicole Ridgwell” Read More »

HSJ- Insight and Influence Channel – The Impact of the Health and Safety Offences Sentencing guidelines on the health and social care sector

Just a little over a year ago on 1 February 2016 the sentencing guidelines for Health and Safety Offences were introduced.  They are of wide reaching impact for the health and social care sector in particular in relation to breaches, alleged or actual, of health and safety law. The guidelines were brought in to provide …

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Healthcare Business – Reflections from the front line

This month I will draw together some operational themes showing trends in practice, in regulation, commissioning and staffing.  All of these combine to make a providers’ task more difficult. Regulation CQC and other regulators grow in power.  Government encourages the regulator to believe that their judgments are beyond the prospect of error.  Senior staff at …

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Lexis Nexis – Viability of remedies against public authorities

Public bodies serve the public. Increasingly those affected by public authority decisions are aggrieved and seek a remedy. Clearly if the grievance relates to breach of contract or a tort (civil wrong) the public body may be held liable for remedies arising under the common law. Such claims include breach of statutory duty (where such …

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Drink & Drug News- Q & A February 2017

Q: ‘We have received criticism for not providing clear patient pathways on exit from our residential treatment service. We are very focused on aftercare and have strong relationships with the fellowships and other community groups – however these are informal and we do not have documentation. How should we present our evidence to demonstrate that this is …

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Dental Practice Manager Online- Recent changes to GDC fitness to practise investigations

Complaints Both the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the General Dental Council (GDC) require providers of dental care services to have an internal complaints system in place. This system must be publicised, accessible and understood by staff and the people who use the service. To ensure that your practice complies with this requirement, you should …

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Healthcare Business- Trial by Media – providers’ reputations are at risk

CQC are and have, for some time, been pressing the Department of Health for a change in regulation to allow it to publish information about enforcement action it has taken which “forced improvement”. This was discussed at the CQC December 2016 Board Meeting where concern was expressed that CQC could not publish information about enforcement …

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Care Talk- The Competition and Markets Authority shines a light on the care home sector

A number of care home owners have asked us whether the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) “market study” into the sector will affect them or whether there is anything they should do now to head off any possible future criticism of their organisation. CMA market study The CMA announced its market study of the care …

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Caring Times- CQC sets out its intentions to refine its regulatory approach for adult social care

Under plans released just before the 2016 Christmas break, CQC set out its broad plans to revise the way that it performs its obligations from April 2017 onwards in the form of a consultation document on its next phase of regulation. The approach towards taking regulatory action where providers fall beneath the requirements set out …

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