Commission for Social Care Inspection

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

• where the regulator fits in
• and what are the links?
• Action on Elder Abuse Moving Forward Conference

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CSCI?

• CSCI is the single regulator and inspectorate for
  social care in England and was established by the
  Health Social Care (Community Health
  Standards) Act 2003
• We came into being on the 1st April 2004
  replacing the NCSC, SSI and Audit Commission
  (Joint Reviews)
• We are a non-departmental government body
  sponsored by the Department of Health and our
  core functions are
• The registration and inspection of care service
  providers under the scope of the Care Standards
  Act 2000
• The performance assessment of the 150 councils
  with social services responsibilities (star
  ratings)

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The Future!
The Chancellor announced a reform of regulatory
bodies in the March 2005 Budget with implications
for CSCI Our childrens functions will migrate
to a children learners and skills inspectorate
(the new Ofsted) by 2007 Our adult functions
will merge with the Healthcare Commission by 2008
in a new adult social care and health
inspectorate Transition arrangements are now
underway across both streams, but at different
speeds However, over the next two years we have
a major change agenda to deliver and Inspecting
for Better Lives (IBL) is at the heart of our
reforms towards a modern regulator and
inspectorate
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IBL
Inspecting For Better Lives Towards A Modern
Regulator Inspectorate

• Empower service users and be driven by their
  experience
• Make regulation simpler
• Use less resources
• Emphasise that providers and commissioners are
  responsible for quality
• Encourage improvement, but be tough on bad
  practice.

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Elder Abuse

• Where we are now
• The role of CSCI in protection and safeguarding
  matters often lacks clarity with partner agencies
• Where we are going
• Reforms under IBL to our complaints processes and
  our approach to protection and safeguarding will
• Enable our external partners to better
  understand our legal duties and responsibilities
• Promote consistency of practise across CSCI
• Clearly define the difference between a
  complaint and an allegation of abuse

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The Legal Context
Social Care
Care Standards Act 2000 Children Act 1989 Health
Social Care Act 2003 Regulations NMS
Rights
Human Rights Act 1998 Race Relations Amendment
Act 2002 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 Data
Protection Act 1998 Freedom Of Information Act
2000
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IBL Change Drivers

• We attach the term complaint to widely diverse
  information with quite differing levels of
  gravity
• Adult and child protection referrals (including
  suspicion of abuse) are obscured or double
  counted
• We sometimes find ourselves acting
  inappropriately as the lead coordinating agency
  in protection matters
• The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998
  is not properly applied to staff in regulated
  care settings
• Inconsistent decision making about whether the
  provider or ourselves should consider complaints
• 80 of corporate complaints about us have their
  origin in regulatory complaints matters

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Some Key Messages

• We have no statutory complaints duties and are
  not a complaints investigation / mediation agency
• Social care services have statutory
  responsibilities for complaint handling
  (providers and local authorities)
• CSCI is not a protection agency, but will act
  where regulated services are the focus of the
  allegation
• Allegations of abuse are the lead coordinating
  (strategy) responsibility of local protection and
  safeguarding bodies
• CSCI may on occasions undertake a lead role in
  adult protection enquiries and investigations

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Information

HOT INFORMATION
COOL INFORMATION
enquiries
compliments
correspondence
compliments
opinions
surveys
consultations
research
feedback
events
submissions
submissions
comments
referrals
suggestions
representations
representations
complaints
concerns
allegations
Information about regulated services comes to us
from a range of sources
The new approach focuses on information defined
as hot and which requires action of some
description
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Procedure

complaints
concerns
allegations
assessment using descriptors and accumulated
evidence
STATUTORY SOCIAL SERVICES COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
CONCERN COMPLAINT CSCI OWNED
CONCERN COMPLAINT PROVIDER OWNED
ADULT PROTECTION MULTI AGENCY
CHILD PROTECTION MULTI AGENCY
COMPLAINT CONCERN PROVIDER OWNED
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Procedure Assessment

• information
• descriptors
• definitions
• ownership
• accumulated evidence
• proportionate Action

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Procedure Definitions
Concern / Complaint An expression of
dissatisfaction about the quality of the outcomes
for people using a service Allegation A
referral of a serious nature indicating possible
abusive or criminal practices
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Procedure Descriptors
Step 1 Descriptors Provide for initial screening
to determine whether information falls into the
scope of the concerns, complaints and allegations
procedure Step 2 Descriptors Enable the correct
definition to be applied (concern, complaint or
allegation) Step 3 Descriptors Assist in
determining whether the provider, local authority
or other agency, or ourselves own responsibility
for the necessary enquiries
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IBL Adult Protection

• The new approach to concerns and complaints has
  exposed significant adult protection issues for
  CSCI
• CSCI Senior Management Board with shortly be
  considering recommendations for reforms in adult
  protection policy, procedure and practise. These
  will be considered by the Commission in late
  spring and include
• The need for a new national adult protection
  protocol that reflects structural changes since
  No Secrets
• Recognition of the term safeguarding and other
  recent developments in adult abuse
• Revised guidance for CSCI staff on their role in
  local safeguarding arrangements