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CQC must stop duplicate monitoringCommunity Care Market News - The Care Quality Commission (CQC) must use its powers to put a stop to the growing number of councils doubling up on care home standards monitoing. A partnership between the English Community Care Association (ECCA) and the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) has today (8 July) called upon the sector watchdog to act with urgency on what it calls the 'masquerade' of local authorities claiming to be checking for contract compliance when in reality they are duplicating official inspections. Chief executive of ECCA Martin Green told CCMN that such behaviour had been going on for far too long for the watchdog to continue to avoid it any further. He said that councils regularly claim that they do not have sufficient funds to move the figures they pay for residential and nursing care in line with the actual costs of care, yet a growing number are establishing teams of three or four staff who visit and inspect providers under the auspices of a contract monitoring service. He said that in essence councils are simply repeating tasks already expected of the official care sector watchdog. An independent review commissioned by ECCA and VODG showed that from a sample of eight councils all had already, or were shortly planning to, set up such monitoring units. ECCA is now lobbying the Department of Health (DH) to force the CQC to push through with drawing up official protocol on the matter, while it is also taking to the National Audit Office (NAO) claiming that councils are current wasting tax payers money. To read more see the forthcoming July issue of Community Care Market News. Justin Merritt (08/08/2009)
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Merritt on justin@laingbuisson.co.uk Tel: 020 7841 0049 |