To Nominated Individuals and Registered Managers of: 

Independent learning disability and/or autism services 

Independent dialysis services 

Independent ambulance providers 

From Friday 5 June, we will start to roll out a new part of our approach to regulation during COVID-19, our Emergency Support Framework (ESF). The framework is already being used in adult social care and primary medical services, and it will be further adapted for roll out more widely across other sectors.  

The information that we gather through this route is a further source of intelligence that we are using to monitor risk, identify where providers may need extra support to respond to emerging issues, and ensure they are delivering safe care which protects people’s human rights. It also aids our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on staff and people using services, and where we may need to escalate concerns to regional and national partners. 

These conversations also provide a forum for providers to talk through any tough decisions they need to make and for inspectors to offer targeted local advice where appropriate.  

Although most of our inspection activity has been paused, we continue to go into services where we are alerted to serious concerns about people’s care and where there are human rights breaches. We have also committed to resuming a full programme of responsive inspections for mental health, learning disability and autism services, and the ESF will be used alongside this activity. 

The ESF allows us to take a flexible approach which can be adapted for use in different sectors based on feedback we receive and as the situation changes. 

More information is available on our website, including provider guidance, a full news story and a joint statement from our Chief Inspectors.