The Care Commission

The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, known as The Care Commission has the responsibility for the regulation and inspection of all care services in Scotland which are registrable under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.

The Care Commission was established in April 2002 as an independent regulator set up under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. The key principles of the Commission are threefold; keeping people safe; promoting dignity and choice and supporting independence. [http://www.carecommission.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=101]

ervices Regulated

The Care Commission has the responsibility for the regulation of all services in Scotland providing care to children, adults and older people. The following is a full list of services regulated by the commission. [http://www.carecommission.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=70]

*Adult placement services
*Care homes for people with drug and alcohol misuse problems
*Care homes for people with learning disabilities
*Care homes for people with mental health problems
*Care homes for older people
*Care homes for people with physical and sensory impairment
*Housing support services
*Services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation
*Short breaks and respite care
*Support services
*Adoption agencies
*Care homes for children and young people
*Childcare agencies
*Early education and childcare up to the age of 16
*Foster care and family placement services
*School care and family placement services
*School care accommodation services
*Care at home
*Hospice care
*Independent hospitals / Independent specialist clinics
*Nurse agencies

cope and statistics

Care Commission annually regulate over 15,000 care services used by 320,000 people. The commission currently has 571 staff. [http://www.carecommission.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=112]

Methods of Regulation

The form of regulation carried out by the Care Commission is largely laid down in the Regulation of Care(Scotland) Act, 2001, and associated Statutory Instruments.

The regulation is carried out by means of RICE, which is an acronym for Registration, Inspection, Complaints investigation, and Enforcement.

Registration ensures that the service, before opening, must demonstrate that it will be provided in line with legal and good practice requirements, and in conformity with the National Care Standards.

Inspection monitors how well the service adheres to providing a good service. Inspections are often unannounced, and often result in recommendations and requirements on the service.

Complaint investigations may be initiated by communication from service users, their relatives, or members of the public. The investigation can often, as in inspection, result in recommendations, requirements, and less often in enforcement action.

Enforcement occurs where a service has not complied with legal requirements despite these having been made clear to the service. It usually consists of additional conditions on further operation: where these are not met, the enforcement can ultimately lead to the closure of the service.

A changed approach

In 2008 the Care Commission changed its approach to inspection. While still based on the National Care Standards, the criteria for improving quality became based upon how well service users participate in assessing the quality of the service provided. This became known as Regulation for Improvement, using the Quality Assessment Framework.

The Quality Assessment framework allowed inspectors to grade quality statements about the performance of services on a scale of 1 to 6, from Unsatisfactory to Excellent. This mirrored the HMIE grading approach to assessing the quality of educational provision, and the Care Commission frequently carried out joint inspections with HMI inspectors.

The hope is that rating services with a numerical score for each element of quality care will provide a clearer indicator of quality and of how improvements can be made. The changed approach has been welcomed, allowing a greater focus on the point of view of the service user, and allowing funding authorities to make clearer, quality based decisions about ongoing funding. [http://henrystewart.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,3,9;journal,3,7;linkingpublicationresults,1:120195,1 Bill Duncan's article in Journal of Care Services Management]

ee also

*Commission for Social Care Inspection (Regulator in England)

External links

* [http://www.carecommission.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=112 The Care Commission]
* [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/17652/9328 List of the National Care Standards used by the Commission]