On 10 June 2020, a domiciliary care provider was fined £34,833 and ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge and £9,000 in costs as a result of a prosecution brought by CQC for failing to be registered.
The court heard that the provider had been providing personal care to people living in their own homes in the community since 2015 without appropriate CQC registration. CQC initially received information from the Council about this in September 2017 and the provider was contacted by CQC regarding its registration between October 2017 and September 2019.
The directors made several attempts to register with CQC but it was decided that the provider did not meet the required standards and so CQC issued a notice of decision to refuse their registration. The company entered a guilty plea prior to the hearing, admitting that it had carried out a regulated activity without the required registration, breaching section 10 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Joyce Frederick, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Registration said, “Providers of personal care services deal with people whose circumstances make them vulnerable and who may not be able to report abuse or poor care. Where we find providers operating outside of the law, we do not hesitate to act to protect people. The law requires care agencies to register with the Care Quality Commission to protect people needing care in their own homes. It ensures all care providers are monitored and inspected, meaning safe care and treatment is maintained.”
Ms Frederick also said that, “This is one of the largest fines handed out to an unregistered provider. I would hope the size of this fine would send a very clear message to anyone thinking of operating a service without registering with the Care Quality Commission.”
