Regulation of health and adult social care in England is changing. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 establishes a new single regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and a unified regulatory regime for all providers of health and adult social care.
Health and adult social care are currently regulated separately, by the Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) respectively. NHS-provided care is also dealt with differently from healthcare provided by the independent sector.
From April 2009 the CQC will be responsible for regulating the quality of health and adult social care in England. It will take over the functions of the existing regulators: the Healthcare Commission, CSCI and the Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC).
The Healthcare Commission, CSCI and MHAC continue to operate until the end of March 2009, with the CQC operating in shadow form from October 2008. The CQC takes up its responsibilities for the quality of health and social care in April 2009, operating the current systems inherited from its predecessor bodies.
From April 2009 the CQC will assess NHS organisations on their compliance with standards relating to healthcare associated infections.
The full, new registration system comes into force in April 2010. This will require all providers of certain services, including the NHS, to register with the CQC in order to provide care.
As well as the Healthcare Commission and CQC, many statutory bodies have regulatory or inspection oversight of NHS organisations, which are often duplicative. This creates significant and unnecessary burden on NHS bodies.
Creating a single regulator for health and social care should help to reduce some regulatory duplication and overlap, and ensure care is provided to consistent standards, whoever provides it. We support the principle of registration based on activities and services provided, and particularly welcome proposals to include primary medical and dental services within the scope of regulation.
We support moves to create a light-touch regulatory framework that incentivises health bodies to improve service quality, and is risk-based and proportionate. We welcomed changes to the annual health check system for regulating NHS organisations, based on self-declaration of compliance with core standards and risk-based inspection.
The NHS Confederation is monitoring the progress of the concordat between regulatory and inspection bodies to reduce the bureaucratic burden. Together with Independent Healthcare Advisory Services, the NHS Confederation operates a provider advisory group intended to reduce bureaucratic burden and overlaps.
The NHS Confederation meets regularly with the Healthcare Commission to represent members' views and we are meeting with the CQC to influence the shape of the new system.
More details of our work programme can be found in the sections on regulation and public confidence.
We are collating members' views and experiences of the 2007/08 annual health check and will be forwarding these on to both the Healthcare Commission and the CQC. We are seeking members' views on the CQC consultation on their enforcement policy. To become involved in our regulation work programme, please contact frances.blunden@nhsconfed.org.
Reducing the regulatory burden
The NHS Confederation and Independent Healthcare Advisory Services have established a provider advisory group to take practical steps on reducing bureaucracy in the NHS, following publication of our bureaucratic burden in the NHS report in 2007.
Registration standards framework
Regulation of health and social care in England is changing. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 establishes a new single regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and a unified regulatory regime for all providers of health and adult social care.
Annual Health Check 2007/08
More trusts in England are achieving an excellent or good rating according to the Healthcare Commission's annual ratings, published on 16 October. The number of trusts with a poor rating has shrunk significantly.
Care Quality Commission
In April, 2009 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assumes responsibility for regulating the quality of health and adult social care in England.
Burden of bureaucracy survey
Survey on reducing the burden of bureaucracy in the NHS.
Last reviewed 4 Nov 2008