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<p>The Department has noted the report of the serious case review into deaths at Orchid
View care home. The great majority of the report's recommendations are for local attention
and response. However, the Department is taking action to improve the regulation and
oversight of care providers and to enhance protection from abuse and neglect.</p><p>
</p><p>The Care Act places care and support law into a single statute for the first
time and enshrines the principle of individual wellbeing as the driving force behind
it. It ensures that people will have clearer information and advice to help them navigate
the system, and a more diverse, high quality range of support to choose from to meet
their needs.</p><p> </p><p>The Act sets local authorities' responsibility for protecting
adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect in primary legislation. This
is vital to ensure clear accountability, roles and responsibilities for helping and
protecting adults with care and support needs who are experiencing, or at risk of,
abuse or neglect as a result of those needs. Local authorities are given a lead role
in coordinating local safeguarding activity.</p><p> </p><p>Following the failure of
Southern Cross Healthcare, the Government consulted widely on how to address the issues
around the financial failure of large care providers. The Care Act establishes the
Care Quality Commission (CQC) as the financial regulator of providers which, because
of their size, geographical coverage or specialism, could cause difficulty to local
authorities in arranging alternative care in such circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The
CQC will look at the finances of these providers and, where there are significant
concerns about financial sustainability, take action to ensure a provider is taking
steps to return to financial health. Where that is not possible, the CQC will share
all the information it has with relevant local authorities, to help them minimise
the negative effects should the provider fail and to ensure a smooth process that
provides continuing care to individuals.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of this new regime
is not to prop up failing providers, but to provide reassurance and co-ordinate continuity
of care for people affected should a care business fail. The CQC is currently working
to establish this new function, which will begin in April 2015 and sit alongside its
role to oversee the quality of providers. In the meantime, the Department has a team
overseeing the finances of the five largest providers.</p><p> </p><p>Significant reform
is already underway to ensure the CQC is an effective regulator. Chief Inspectors
have been appointed, for hospitals, adult social care, and general practice. The CQC
is putting in place specialist inspection teams, headed by the Chief Inspectors, to
carry out more in-depth inspections that subject providers to greater scrutiny than
before.</p><p> </p><p>Under the leadership of the Chief Inspectors and, after a phase
of testing, since April 2014 all acute National Health Service trusts inspections
have used the new methodology; the inspection reports from this wave were all published
by March 2014, three of which produced a shadow rating. The CQC is completing the
second wave of inspections and all 13 of the 19 inspection reports already published
have a shadow rating. The CQC also began testing its new inspection model in mental
health, community services and NHS general practice out of hours services in January
2014 and in adult social care in April 2014.</p><p> </p><p>Subject to Parliamentary
agreement, regulations will introduce new fundamental standards as requirements for
registration with the CQC. These will allow the CQC to take robust action against
providers that do not deliver an acceptable standard of care. The CQC will produce
ratings of the quality of care ranging from ‘outstanding' to ‘inadequate', to provide
service users with a fuller picture of the quality of care available. The aim is to
introduce both sets of regulations in October 2014.</p><p> </p>
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