Coronavirus: Care watchdog urged to re-start routine inspections of care homes and mental health units
Charities and voluntary organisations warn vulnerable people are being put at 'heightened' risk
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Your support makes all the difference.A dozen charities and voluntary organisations have now called on the Care Quality Commission to re-start routine inspections of care homes and mental health units amid concerns about care of patients during the coronavirus pandemic.
The watchdog suspended its routine inspections of care providers on 16 March, but said it would inspect providers in “a very small number of cases” where it had concerns for patients such as allegations of abuse.
The CQC’s chief executive said the watchdog’s decision was designed in part to limit the spread of the disease but he added that since inspections were curtailed inspectors had maintained contact with providers and helped to source protective equipment for staff.
The CQC has also helped to book tests for thousands of social care staff.
The Relatives and Residents Association, a national charity for older people in care and their relatives, has written to the CQC’s chief executive Ian Trenholm asking him to “urgently reconsider” the decision to stop inspections.
Chair Judy Downey said the watchdog should prioritise homes where the regulator had concerns before the lockdown.
Edel Harris, chief executive of Mencap has also highlighted concerns for hundreds of children with learning disabilities who she said were detained in “modern-day asylums” adding: “Some families are rightly terrified about what might be happening to their loved ones behind closed doors. With family contact cut and CQC inspections reduced during lockdown, there is huge concern about who is making sure that some of the most vulnerable people in society are being kept safe and well during this national crisis.”
Earlier this month lawyers from law firm Leigh Day wrote to the watchdog on behalf of 11 organisations supporting older people and those with mental health and learning disabilities.
It warned people who were already vulnerable were “being put at heightened risk due to the suspension of inspections” and argued the CQC could be breaching duties under the Human Rights Act by stopping inspections.
It pointed to the evidence from previous CQC reports showing residents of care homes can be at risk of exploitation, violence and abuse as well as inappropriate behaviours, over-medication and inappropriate medication, restraint and seclusion.
It called on the CQC to prioritise inspections of homes already deemed inadequate or requires improvement by the regulator.
Ian Trenholm, chief executive at the CQC said the coronavirus crisis had required all staff in health and social care to work differently, including those employed by the regulator.
He added: “Throughout the coronavirus pandemic our regulatory role and core purpose to keep people safe has been at the heart of all decisions we have made. This role has not changed - to ensure that health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care.”
Mr Trenholm said the decision to stop inspections was made “in part to protect people by limiting the number of people entering care homes and risking the further spread of coronavirus.
“But we are continuing to inspect in response to whistleblowing concerns and where we see evidence of risk of harm, deliberate abuse, systematic neglect or a significant breakdown in leadership. We will use our powers, or work with the relevant system partners, to take action against those responsible where we find unsafe or poor care.”
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