REGULATION AND OBSERVING CARE

You may recall that in a previous discussion about regulating home care we made the point that a judgement about the quality of an organisation can only be made by observing some, ideally a lot, of the care delivered by that organisation.

We now learn that CQC are expressly saying that they will not observe any home care being delivered.

How can that be?

Is it because the regulator is worried about the dignity of home care clients?

But this can be sorted by not observing personal care.

Is it because CQC is worried about the sanctity of someone’s home?

But this can be resolved by ringing the client and asking permission. In our experience most clients are delighted to have a visit and to have their say.

We don’t think either of the above two excuses are valid. And neither do we think they are the real reasons.

The real reason, sadly, is cost. CQC is trying to regulate on the cheap... And it is far cheaper and easier to inspect from behind a desk.