The independent regulator of health
and social care in England

CQC Update

1 October 2021

A regular update for providers and professionals working in adult social care.

COVID-19 vaccination of people working/deployed in care homes: the role of the Care Quality Commission

We're aware of concerns regarding the vaccination as a condition of deployment duty, introduced as part of changes to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (‘the Act’). Some of these concerns have been raised around the role of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in monitoring compliance with this requirement.

We understand that COVID-19 pandemic has, and continues to be, an extremely difficult time for care providers, staff members, people using services and their representatives. We recognise the lengths that many staff members and volunteers within services have gone to, to keep people safe during this challenging period.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have amended the Act. From 11 November 2021, all care home workers and other visiting professionals will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they have an exemption or there is an emergency. More information about the exemptions and what is an emergency is detailed in their operational guidance. 

Our role is to regulate against the regulations as they are set by government. As such, we encourage providers to read the operational guidance issued by DHSC on 4 August 2021 and to take the necessary actions to be prepared for this duty to come into place.

We consider that vaccination is an important measure in protecting people who live in care homes and from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have encouraged providers to encourage and facilitate vaccinations of their staff who are eligible to have a vaccination. 

The requirement forms part of the fundamental standards and will be monitored and enforced in appropriate cases by us. We will not begin monitoring this until it becomes a duty on 11 November 2021. We will continue to use our existing assessment and enforcement policies and take a proportionate approach, to ensure the welfare and safety of people who use services. We will always treat each matter individually and consider the individual circumstances when undertaking an assessment and deciding on any possible next steps.

NHS COVID Pass medical exemption guidance

The Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance on the process for obtaining medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccination. The guidance will be accompanied with a Q&A document for you to share in your teams. 

New support package for care providers to adopt digital social care records

A new partnership between NHSX and Digital Social Care has been formed to support the universal adoption of Digital Social Care Records.

Digital social care records enable improvements in the safety and quality of care. They facilitate better communication between adult social care and health settings and free up time spent by care workers and managers on administrative tasks.

The new national support offer includes masterclasses, buyer guidance, model contracts and template specifications. NHSX will also be supporting nine Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) from across the country to deliver small-scale pilots to help inform their plans for supporting the care sector in future years.

Visit the Digital Social Care or NHSX websites for more information.

Association of British Insurers guidance

The Association of British Insurers and British Insurance Brokers' Association have worked together to publish guidance on accessing public liability and employers liability insurance.

The guidance provides background to current issues in obtaining public liability and employers liability insurance, and provides support on how you can improve their ability to access insurance cover.

Covid-19 booster and flu vaccination programme for social care

Claire Armstrong, Director of Adult Social Care and COVID-19 Response has written to adult social care providers and leaders on the Covid-19 booster and flu vaccination programmes.

The COVID-19 vaccine booster is being prioritised for people in the following groups:

• Care home residents
• Health and social care workers

• People aged over 50
• People16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19
• Adult carers
• Adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

Those eligible for the booster will be contacted directly and boosters for care home residents will be delivered through vaccination teams. Staff may also be offered a vaccination through these teams however they can also receive their booster via their GP or a hospital hub. Social care workers are also eligible for a free flu vaccine.

A new communications toolkit and range of marketing materials has been published on the Public Health England campaign resource centre. This includes: Q&A leaflets, posters, social media graphics and email signatures, have been launched for providers to encourage care colleagues to taken up both vaccines. Printed materials are available to pre-order now, and digital assets will be available later this week.

Podcast on our new regulatory model

Following the launch of our new strategy in May we've been working to develop proposals for a future regulatory model.

I this new podcast episode you can hear from our Heads of Policy Dave James and Amanda Hutchinson on our latest thinking around evidence categories and outputs from assessments.

Chief Inspector Ted Baker to retire next year

Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, has announced plans to retire in March 2022 after nearly five years in post. After holding the position of Deputy Chief Inspector since 2014, Ted became Chief Inspector in July 2017 and since then has been instrumental in shaping the way CQC regulates hospital services , driving great collaboration between services and local systems to help improve care. Ted has worked at every level of the health system, with over 35 years of clinical experience, and held many senior academic positions in the UK and abroad. He has been a passionate champion of patient safety, and under his leadership CQC has been able to identify problems earlier and act more quickly to drive improvement. For more information read the full news story.

Free London Symphony Orchestra thank you concert for care homes

London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) are performing a free live streamed concert for care home staff and residents to say thank you for your hard work and resilience through the pandemic. 

The concert is being broadcast from Bath Forum and is made possible by a partnership between Bristol Beacon and Bristol Care Homes, who wanted to extend the opportunity to watch the concert to all care homes across the country.

For one night only, the concert will be broadcast live via YouTube at 7:15pm on Thursday 7 October 2021.

Any care home in the country can tune in for free to this special thank you broadcast. 

LSO would like to see photos of you watching the concert together, so please share them on social media using the hashtag #ThankYouCareHomes and tagging @Bristol_Beacon and @londonsymphony

In order to play the stream on your Smart TV, follow this instruction guide. 

Other news

• In their latest newsletter Department of Health and Social Care introduce the new minister for Care and Mental Health Gillian Keegan, as well as provide an update on the COVID-19 booster and talk about Social Care reform. Click the link to read the newsletter and sign-up for future updates.
• The deadline for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) was 30 June 2021. Late applications are being considered for people have reasonable grounds for missing the deadline. Information on making a late application can be found in this EUSS: Information for late applicants guide. Support is available on GOV.UK for further information. Telephone support is also available through the Home Office Settlement Resolution Centre on 0300 123 7379.
• We've published a new podcast on CQC Connect. Dr Ayisha Ashmore and Dr Faizan Ahmed talk about CQC's GP Inequalities Project which is looking into the concern that GPs from an ethnic minority background receive poorer CQC ratings or regulatory outcomes. Click the link to listen on SoundCloud. 
• In a free webinar series this November hear from people with lived experience, BASW England, Skills for Care, CQC and NICE on how to support health and social care providers to enable adults with learning disabilities and/or autistic adults to live good lives along the 'homes not hospitals' pathway. Find out more and register. 

• The National Fire Chiefs Council have created guidance for providers on fire safety in care homes and nursing homes to support with current health and safety practices. The guidance emphasises the critical importance of staffing levels, emergency plans, and fire safety management arrangements in Care/Nursing Homes. They recommend providers find their local Fire Risk Assessors or Local Fire and Rescue Service to support with reviewing your fire risk assessments and management arrangements 

• The latest COVID-19 Insight report is up on our website. In this month's report we look at how NHS trusts are now planning for people’s care while tackling the backlog caused by COVID-19 and their assessment of challenges. You can visit our website to the read the report. 

• Safe digital health technologies are critical to COVID-19 recovery efforts. NHSX has published the NHS's first ever Digital Clinical Safety Strategy. You can read the strategy on the NHSX website and contact the team at nhsxdigitalsafety@nhsx.nhs.uk with any feedback. 

• We've published a report on maternity safety on our website which highlights continued concern about the variation in the quality and safety of England’s maternity services. Read Safety, equity and engagement in maternity services on our website. 
• We're working with NHS Health Research Authority (HRA), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop a multi-agency advisory service (MAAS) for developers and adopters of AI and data-driven technologies. You can read about this project and latest information in a blog written by Carly Wheeler, Policy Manager at HRA. 

Guidance and links

There is now an overview of adult social care guidance on the GOV UK website.

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