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The National Care Standards Commission was established in England under the Care Standards Act 2000, in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care in 1999.

As of 1 st April 2004, two new inspectorates replace the National Care Standards Commission:

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and

The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI)

In Scotland the role of the CSCI is fulfilled by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Social Care and in Wales by the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales. Northern Ireland is developing an inspectorate similar to that in England. They currently have four registration and inspection units which will be replaced by a single organisation in April 2005.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection is the single, independent inspectorate for social care in England. It was created by the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

The Commission inspects, regulates and reviews all social care services against national minimal standards set by the Government. Its primary function is to promote improvements in social care.

Under legislation, services which have previously been regulated by the NCSC will now be registered with CSCI. These include care homes and domiciliary care services. National minimum standards are core requirements which apply to each type of service or care provider. Evidence is required that specific aspects of care provision are in the best interests of the individuals using that particular service e.g.

• facilities
• resources
• policies
• workforce
• services
• activities

Inspections generally take place every six months in Care Homes and annually for Care Agencies. Inspection reports are available from individual care providers or can be obtained directly from the CSCI.

Complaints

The CSCI monitors the quality and effectiveness of care service providers and uses its powers and procedures to investigate complaints. From April 2005, CSCI will also assume responsibility for the independent review of complaints concerning local authority social service departments.

For further information about the CSCI visit www.csci.org.uk

Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI)

The primary function of the Healthcare Commission is to promote improvement in the quality and effectiveness of both the NHS and private and voluntary healthcare across England and Wales. Its other responsibilities include:

• The inspection of the management, provision and quality of health care services
• Investigation of serious service failures
• Reporting back to the Secretary of State

The Healthcare Commission takes over the private and voluntary healthcare functions of the National Care Standards Commission.

For further information about the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection visit www.chai.org.uk

If you require further assistance or would like to speak to the Independent Care Adviser this site recommends please call 0800 137 669 or complete the e-mail enquiry form.