NEW CARE HOME INSPECTION PLANS 'PUT RESIDENTS AT RISK'

THOUSANDS of care home residents could be put at risk under a shake-up of inspections.

- GILES SHELDRICK

Campaigners warn some services might go for up to 10 years without being fully assessed amid changes to how the Care Quality Commission assesses providers. There is no timetable now for inspections, in which homes are rated outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

But proposals for routine inspections to be carried out sporadically suggest that inspectors would not be able to look at every aspect of the service on each occasion, which could leave “significant gaps in oversight that could allow poor care to go unregulated”, campaigners warned.

Responding to proposals made in a consultation launched by the CQC in October, Care Rights UK said: “We have significant concerns about the proposal that routine inspections generally occur every three to five years.

“The consultation also suggests they would not expect to look comprehensively at every area of every service or cover every part of the assessment framework every time they inspect a service. This means that some parts of a service may not be assessed for 10 years at worst.”

Inspections are critical to understanding what happens in care settings and addressing poor care.

Campaigners have warned the CQC that it will not get a full picture by relying on whistle-blowing or complaints being raised.

Research found 56% of those who witnessed poor care did not report it.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting branded the CQC “not fit for purpose” last year after a government-ordered review into the watchdog found a catalogue of failings including an inability to identify poor performance.

Dr Penny Dash’s damning probe into care regulation found the oldest rating for a social care organisation was more than eight years old.