Nythan Smith

CQC update on designated settings for people discharged from hospital with COVID-19

The CQC has provided an update on the care homes deemed to have the required arrangements in place which it believes are suitable to accept people that have been discharged from hospital with COVID-19. There are a little over 3,000 approved beds of this nature across the country, which is clearly positive and means that …

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Musings on CQC’s proposed strategy on regulating the health and social sector through 2021

CQC announced a consultation on its new strategy to take it from 2021 and beyond recently. In this article I pull out some key observations from this consultation and what impact they may have on the health and social sector. There are some positive measures proposed by the CQC but the one area which appears …

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Older persons’ care home market projections released

There was an 8% decrease in occupancy levels within the older persons’ care home market between March and September 2020. Conservative estimates project that occupancy levels will grow to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 with the return gradually rising to meet these levels. More aggressive projections  see the market for older people’s care homes …

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Care providers see insurance premiums rise as they accept COVID positive service users from hospitals

As the pandemic grows to what would appear to be a critical point, there have been repeated calls for the Government to assist care services with covering the cost of increasing insurance premiums to cover admissions of COVID-positive patients from the NHS and into a care home setting. The Government has provided additional funding, available …

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Government sets out its plans for vaccinating health and social care sector

In an address to the nation on 4 January 2021, Boris Johnson set out the ambition to vaccinate all care home residents, older adults and all frontline health and social care workers by 15 February 2021. This will be welcomed by the sector and sets an aspirational deadline giving the sector some reassurance as to …

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Government re-emphasises need for preparedness in health and social care ahead of Brexit

The supply chains that are relied upon by health and social care providers are of extreme importance for both clinical and non-clinical supplies.  The Government wrote to the sector  on 30 December 2020 and re-emphasised the importance of social care providers allowing more time for non-clinical goods to arrive, with 72 hours being the suggested …

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Marked difference in the way Ofsted has chosen to return to the inspection of children’s homes

Ofsted confirmed on 3 December 2020 that it will not return to conducting rated visits of children’s social care providers until April 2021.  It will continue to publish reports which it states will provide commissioners with the information required to make decisions about what is going well in services and what is required to improve.  …

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CQC reveals interim findings of its ‘Review of DNACPR decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic’

CQC finds that some Do Not Attempt CPR orders in care homes during the pandemic may have been inappropriately put in place The CQC’s initial findings from a report into the inappropriate use of DNACPR orders within care homes finds that those in place could have potentially caused avoidable deaths.  Note that this report is …

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