A recent news article in the Guardian has highlighted MP’s concerns over the alarming drop in audits performed by the CQC in Care Homes.

 

The CQC appears to have been focusing more on registering providers rather than auditing the care homes, with 70% fewer inspections. However, they have now said that the number of Audits being performed each quarter is now rapidly rising. If this is the case, what does this mean for the sector?  

 

With the Care Home sector so heavily under the spotlight it begs the question, with a sector under so much pressure to improve quality, how are they going to cope with the increased regulatory pressure?

 

From my conversations with Care Home managers, the issues seem to be that in a sector which is suffering from budget cuts, staffing shortages and no spare time, they simply do not know where to start. Homes have to submit annual documentation to the regulator to show compliance to the standards.

 

The fact that they have such little free time to spare makes me wonder...do they have time to actually manage their regulation documentation/audits? Can they ensure that they are complying to a high enough standard?

 

With the highly publicised downfall of Southern Cross, many Care Homes will be feeling the strain now more than ever, and the future looks like it is only going to get tougher for them. The Department of Health is considering whether to oversee the market more closely, this will surely only mean more regulations for them to comply with.

 

Care Homes are already struggling with the balancing act of restricted resources whilst trying to ensure that they are complying with current regulations, what does it mean for their future? How will they cope with this?

 

Let us know your thoughts, how do you manage your day to day regulatory compliance activities?