The CQC’s New Assessment Framework Consultation: What Adult Social Care Providers Need To Know.

With the launch of a new consultation on its assessment framework, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is inviting feedback from adult social care professionals, providers, and stakeholders to help shape how care standards are evaluated in the future.
In this blog, we’ll break down what the consultation involves, highlight key framework changes, discuss the impact on providers, and explain how you can have your say.

Purpose of the Consultation

As the independent regulator of health and social care services in England the CQC’s primary responsibility is to monitor, inspect, and rate services to ensure people receive safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led care. The assessment framework is central to how the CQC performs its duties, providing the structure and standards against which services are measured. With the recently launched single assessment framework having quickly gone out of favour, the CQC is redesigning its approach to assessment and is now consulting on its new framework.

The current consultation marks a significant step in revising the CQC’s approach to regulation. By seeking input from people working in the care sector, the CQC aims to ensure the new framework is relevant, robust, and reflective of the evolving landscape of care provision.

Why Is the CQC Consultation Happening Now?

The main reason that there is a consultation now relates to the issues with leadership and regulation which have dogged the CQC in recent years. These issues, and the shortcomings of the single assessment framework have meant it had no option but to revise its approach to inspection yet again.

Key Changes in the Assessment Framework

The new assessment framework proposes several important updates designed to clarify and modernise how care services are reviewed and rated. Here are the major changes under consideration. The now discredited Single Assessment Framework is being phased out and is to be replaced with sector-specific frameworks. This means adult social care will no longer be lumped in with other providers like hospitals and primary care services in terms of the way in which services are rated. While the five key questions, safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led will remain, the framework is changing. Providers are reminded however that the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 remain in place as do the fundamental standards, so the legal basis upon which care is based remains.

• The Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) are being brought back in an updated form which focuses on questions which are relevant to the sector, rather than generic.
• Rating characteristics are in and the 132-data-point scoring model for scoring services is out.
• There is a renewed emphasis on professional judgement so the inspectors have more latitude in how they score each service.
• The requirements for evidence have shifted from being descriptive under the SAF to being more evaluative – this is a big change which will require providers to demonstrate outcomes rather than blind compliance

Timeline

If you have something to say about the new approach, you do not have long as the timeline identifies that the CQC will analyse the feedback form the consultation and testing new drafts in spring of this year with a few to finalising the sector specific frameworks in the summer. The plan is to fully implement the new approach later this year.

Implications

The proposed framework brings both opportunities and challenges. Providers will need to familiarise themselves with the new yet another new framework and consider how they collect and collate the evidence needed in order to address it during inspections.

The focus on outcomes will push providers into being more focussed on continuous quality improvement and on recording the attainment of outcomes for service users.

There is little doubt, smaller providers are likely to benefit from a more proportionate approach to inspection, however with flexibility comes uncertainty with any approach that allows for subjectivity meaning there is a real danger of inconsistency in application.

Notably for a framework which is said to be more outcome focussed, there is a certain lack of logic in removing the quality statements which identify how a service is committed to attaining certain outcomes for their service users. It appears that the plan is to continue using the “I” statements so that the voice of People who access service remains at the centre of inspection.

How to Participate in the Consultation

The CQC consultation is open to all stakeholders, including care providers, participation is straightforward and may make a difference to how care is regulated in the future. The consultation is now sector specific, so social care providers have an opportunity to feedback on what the implication might be for this sector.

1. Review the Consultation Documents: Detailed proposals and background papers are available on the CQC website, outlining the rationale and specifics of the new framework, https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/how-we-involve-you/consultations/definition-and-purpose-our-assessment-frameworks.

2. Spend time with the Adult Social Care specific draft framework: https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/how-we-involve-you/consultations/give-your-views-draft-sector-specific-assessment-frameworks.

3. Submit Feedback: Respond online to the consultation, https://cqc.govocal.com/en-GB/projects/give-your-views-draft-sector-specific-assessment-frameworks.

Feedback from the consultation will inform the final version of the assessment framework, so give feedback if you want to influence the outcome.

Summary

In this blog we have considered something of the nature of the CQC’s proposed new assessment framework. We have seen that it heralds the return of the KLOEs, with the quality statements being relegated to history.

We have identified that the proposed framework allows the inspector more discretion and that this flexibility may work in favour of the smaller, Adult social care, provider.

Bettal encourage you to participate in the sector specific phase of the consultation so that your voice can be heard as the CQC continue to evolve their new assessment strategy.

If you have yet to register a domiciliary, homecare, agency or you are looking for ongoing support with policies, procedures and a whole lot more, browse our website or get in touch:

Email: info@bettal.co.uk
Telephone: 01697741411

Peter Ellis MA MSc BSc(Hons) RN
Consultant
Bettal Quality Consultancy