This page is designed to answer the following questions:
- 3.1 The inspection system in England (Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, Governance & Regulatory Processes)
NOTE: This page has been quality assured for 2023 as per our Quality Assurance policy.
For this assessment criterion, you will be required to explain the key drivers and impact of legislation on the inspection system.
On this page
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
This piece of legislation introduced the fundamental standards and set out the basic requirements and standards that care providers should meet. A full list of regulations can be found here.
These regulations provide the framework for which the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects and grades care providers.
The Care Act 2014
The Care Act 2014 gave local authorities the responsibility to provide needs assessments for anyone that may require care services. It also provided a legal framework for safeguarding adults, which informed Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
Recent local/national queries and findings from safeguarding adult reviews
Under the Care Act 2014, Safeguarding Adult Boards (SABs) were set up by local authorities to oversee safeguarding in their particular region. Part of their statutory responsibility is to perform Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) – previously called Serious Case Reviews – when an individual receiving care dies or is seriously injured as a result of abuse or neglect. The purpose of a SAR is to establish what lessons can be learned and how processes could be improved to prevent something similar from happening in the future. A selection of published SARs can be found here.
The Francis Inquiry (2013) examined serious failings in care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. This resulted in changes to CQC’s inspection process.
Other appropriate topical reviews and reports
Other appropriate reviews and reports may also impact the inspection system. For example, government guidance during the Covid19 pandemic meant that there were changes to the way CQC inspected care providers.