Independent review into CQC's regulation of Whorlton hall
CQC has published the second report of Professor Glynis Murphy’s independent review of our regulation of Whorlton Hall between 2015 and 2019. This follows the publication of part one in March 2020.
The second report outlines the progress that CQC has made to implement the recommendations. This includes publication of the final report of its review of restraint, seclusion and segregation; work on closed cultures and the development of a tool for rating support plans.
Alongside this, Kate Terroni, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care has published a blog updating on our closed cultures work.
Regulating COVID-19 testing
On 15 December 2020, the law changed. Coronavirus testing has been exempted as a regulated activity under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
This means that any testing activity in relation to coronavirus has been taken out of scope of CQC registration. The new Coronavirus, Testing Requirements and Standards (England) Regulations 2020 require all private coronavirus test providers to become accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
You can read more information on our website.
Review of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic - Interim report
In October, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) asked CQC to review how do not resuscitate orders were used during the COVID-19 pandemic, building on concerns that we reported earlier in the year.
Since the announcement we have been working with people who have experience of this issue to help shape our approach. The valuable insight shared by stakeholders, people who use services, and providers, means we can focus our attention on the things that matter to people.
We've just published our interim report which sets out the progress of our review so far and our expectations around DNACPR.
You can read the news story and download the report here.
DNACPR adult social care information request
You may have received a voluntary information request to help us to understand the scale of inappropriate do not resuscitate orders put in place across the country – what made them inappropriate and whether they remain on people’s records or have been removed.
We recognise that the responsibility for making decisions about DNACPRs is not predominantly with adult social care providers. We are asking for your experience of it to get your view of what happened.
You can submit your information until 20 December. Thank you for taking the time to complete this, your feedback is important to us, and to the work of this review.
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Listen to our latest Care at Christmas podcast
In the latest episode of CQC Connect we hear from two adult social care providers who share their experiences of working through the pandemic and discuss how they're making Christmas special for those they care for.
You can listen now via your favourite podcast provider.
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Learning materials for supporting sexuality and relationships
We’re working with Supported Loving, Skills for Care and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to help develop resources to support sexual safety and empowerment in social care.
As part of this work, Supported Loving are doing an extensive evidence review looking at all the existing UK learning materials surrounding this topic.
This evidence review will look in detail at what existing learning materials are available, how they are being used and what impact they have. They want to hear from you. What is your organisation using to train staff in this area?
You can complete their short survey and feedback here.
Resources to support testing
New resources are now available from The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to help you prepare for testing in the run up to Christmas. You can visit the below pages to find out more
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Guidance packs for using lateral flow tests for residential care providers and for their visitors
- A video on how to use the PPE portal
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Guidance for extra care and supported living settings to access testing, alongside webinars from the testing team for support.
 Your experience of CQC’s Medicines Information for adult social care
We'd like to understand what you think about our current information pages on medicines in adult social care and whether they help you manage medicines safely and effectively.
You can complete our survey by logging in our joining our digital participation platform here.
Delegated healthcare tasks guides
Skills for Care has produced two short guides to support decision making and provide information and guidance on delivering delegated healthcare tasks safely and competently.
You may be asked to carry out healthcare tasks that are delegated by a registered healthcare professional such as a nurse, nursing associate or occupational therapist. These are usually called ‘delegated healthcare tasks’ and are often specific clinical interventions that support people’s care and independence.
These guides are aimed at adult social care employers, managers and care workers in care homes but may be useful to those working in other social care settings.
You can find out more information and download the guides from the Skills for Care website.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have published guidance in the delivery of this scheme, for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), care providers and people who use these services.
You can read the guidance in full on the GOV.UK website.
Capacity Tracker update
Shortly questions will be added to the Capacity Tracker asking designated settings to provide information on the number of designated beds they have in operation, and the number that are occupied.
The questions will be added to the daily update section, please check this information is correct daily and continue to update the Capacity Tracker if there are any changes.
End of Transition Period: Keeping data safe
The government has confirmed that the transition period will end on 31 December 2020 and there will be no extension. On 1 January 2021, the UK will become a “third country” for data protection purposes unless an adequacy decision is reached with the EU.
The Care Provider Alliance (CPA) and Digital Social Care have published a helpful briefing which sets out the key actions you should take to prepare for the end of the transition period.
You can read the briefing on the CPA website.
Keeping a focus on children and young people
Victoria Watkins, Deputy Chief Inspector for Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care, blogs about some of the work CQC are doing to keep a focus on children and young people.
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Improving Palliative End of Life Care (PEoLC) in ASC services
Professor Bee Wee, National Clinical Director for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has been in touch with CQC to flag up an offer of support from NHSEI to Adult Social Care providers to help improve the quality of PEoLC in Adult Social Care and outcomes for people.
The support offer is titled “EOLC- Getting to Good” and the steps providers need to take to access support are set out below:
- The provider identifies the need for PEoLC support
- The provider emails details of their needs using the attached template to the PEoLC team at: england.palliativeandendoflife@nhs.net . Providers should receive a response within 2 weeks.
- The PEoLC team will review the information and arrange a call with the provider to conduct a gap analysis and signpost to resources
- The support offer includes QI facilitated engagement and desktop reviews
- A central or local team will maintain regular contact to support improvement
- If appropriate, local support can be drawn in to help sustainability
- Follow up arrangements will be agreed
- The PEoLC central team will maintain an “open door” for requests for further support
In addition, providers can access the Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care publication at http://endoflifecareambitions.org.uk/ a national framework for local action in PEoLC, and which includes information and resources about PEoLC.
NHS England consulting on proposals for next steps for integrated care
NHS England has published Integrating Care: next steps to build strong and effective integrated care systems across England. The report details its vision for a more effective and responsive care system across England. It sets out how NHS organisations, local councils, frontline professionals and others will join forces in an integrated care system (ICS) in every part of England from April 2021.
The document sets out two models to meet this goal without triggering an unnecessary and distracting top down NHS reorganisation. They are seeking views on their proposals in an online survey, which closes on Friday 8 January 2021 at midnight. Visit the NHS England website to access the report and respond to the consultation.
Registering for free personal protective equipment through the PPE portal and guidance on use of PPE
Correct usage of PPE is vital to protect you and the vulnerable people you support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government is providing PPE for free for COVID-19 needs for CQC registered providers, via the PPE portal until the end of March 2021.
Over 20,000 adult social care providers have registered to use the portal. You can register for the portal using your CQC-registered email address here. To help with ordering on the PPE Portal the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have created a step-by-step video. Please also monitor the GOV.UK guidance page for updates. Call the customer service team on 0800 876 6802 if you have any questions about the PPE portal. The team is available from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.
There's a range of guidance and resources to support you with the correct use of PPE in care homes and domiciliary care settings. A specialised training video on donning PPE in social care settings, and an illustrated guide is also available. PPE must be worn, and guidance followed, regardless of whether you are supporting people with Coronavirus or not.
Please share this message with the person responsible for infection control in your organisation.
We'll be launching our consultation in the new year. You can keep up to date through this bulletin and catch up on what we've explored so far through our webinars and podcasts.
Listen to our podcasts
Podcasts covering all of the potential themes for our emerging strategy are now available, including Meeting people's needs, Smarter regulation, Systems, Promoting Safe Care for People and Driving Improvement.
Listen via Soundcloud or your favourite podcast provider, and subscribe to hear the latest episodes first.
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Regulation of coronavirus testing
We have updated our guidance that describes where services offering testing for coronavirus need to be registered with us or not.
All CQC offices are closed
Please do not send post - visit our website for details on how to contact us.
Accessibility resources to help you communicate about COVID-19
Follow us on Twitter!
Keep up with our work with professionals and provider organisations in England by following us on Twitter @CQCProf.
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