Prime
Care : Legal Framework
SUMMARY
The
legal framework is provided by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
(HSWA), whose premise and main principle is that those who create risk from
work activity are responsible for the protection of workers and the public from
any consequences. The Act places specific responsibilities on employers,
self-employed people, those in control of workplaces, employees, designers,
manufacturers, importers and suppliers. Associated legislation places
additional duties on owners, licensees, managers and people in charge of
premises.
General duties
The main provisions of the HSWA impose general duties on employers,
self-employed people and others. They are comprehensive in coverage of people,
places, activities and other sources of hazard and require those who hold the
duties to:
- secure the health, safety and welfare of employees at
work (this includes providing safe systems of work, providing instruction
supervision and training and providing and maintaining a safe workplace
and safe working environment); and
- protect people other than people at work against
exposure to risks to health and safety arising from or in connection with
the activities of people at work.
The provisions are qualified by 'so far as is reasonably practicable'.
The primary pieces of legislation that drive care in the
UK are:
England
81% of publicly funded homecare is now provided by the
independent sector, compared to 5% in 1993.
Standards and Regulation
Providers in England are regulated under the Health and
Social Care Act 2008 by the Care
Quality Commission
(CQC) which took over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection on 1st
April 2009. Homecare providers met or exceeded 82% of the former National
Minimum Standards in 2007-8. In its first publication on the State
of both health and social care 2009 the Care Quality Commission found that 77%
of homecare agencies had received a quality rating of "good" or
"excellent", with just 1% rated as "poor". CQC?s
quality rating system was subsequently discontinued, and an alternative
"Excellence Award" is not expected to come into operation before
April 2012.
Statutory Regulators
The Care Quality Commission, Finsbury Tower, 103-105
Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8TG. Telephone: 0300 0616161. www.cqc.org.uk
The Health Professions Council is currently exploring the practicalities of
registering social care workers on a voluntary basis following the expected
abolition of the General Social Care Council in July 2012.
- General Social Care Council (GSCC), Goldings House, 2
Hay?s Lane, London, SE1 2HB. Telephone: 020 7397 5100. www.gscc.org.uk.
- Health Professions Council (HPC), Park House, 184 Kennington
Park Road, London, SE11 4BU. Telephone: 020 7582 0866. www.hpc-uk.org.
Legislation
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities)
Regulations 2010, is available to download from the Office of Public Sector
Information HERE
The Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 are available to
download from the Office of Public Sector Information HERE
The Essential standards of quality and safety are available from the Care
Quality Commission: HERE Telephone: 03000 616161
Wales
Providers in Wales are regulated by the Care and Social
Services Inspectorate Wales against certain standards. In 2008-2009 CSSIW found
that there had been significant improvements in the quality of homecare
services and that homecare providers were performing well in a number of areas,
including care planning, quality assurance and medication.
Statutory regulators Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), 4/5
Charnwood Court, Heol Billingsley, Parc Nantgarw, Nantgarw, CF15 7QZ.
Telephone: 01443 848450. www.cssiw.org.uk. Prior to 1 April 2007 CSSIW was
known as CSIW - Care Services Inspectorate for Wales.
Care Council for Wales, South Gate House, Wood Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EW.
Telephone: 029 2022 6257. www.ccwales.org.uk.
Legislation
Care Standards Act 2000 is available to download from the
Office of Public Sector Information HERE . For sales telephone The
Stationary Office: 0870 600 5522
The Domiciliary Care Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2004
(Welsh SI No.219) available to download from the Office of Public Sector
Information www.opsi.gov.uk. For sales telephone The
Stationary Office: 0870 600 5522. Note Regulations 21 and 23 are amended as of
1 January 2007 by the Care Standards Act 2000 and the Children Act 1989
(Regulatory Reform and Complaints) (Wales) Regulations 2006. The changes are
available to download from: HERE
National Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care Agencies in Wales (2004) is
available from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales.
Telephone 01443 8484450 or download from HERE
Scotland
As with England and Wales, the majority of people in
receipt of homecare in Scotland receive it through local social services, which
assess need for help according to certain eligibility criteria. A small
majority of homecare continues to be delivered by the councils? in-house
services, and the proportion of statutory funded care delivered by the
independent sector is growing.
Since July 2002 people aged 65 and over have been eligible
for free personal care and can no longer be charged by local authorities for
such services in their own homes, although they can be charged for domestic
services. The policy has contributed to a shift from use of residential care to
homecare. However there is a debate about the sustainability of the policy in
the long term and current funding shortfalls have led to some local authorities
operating "waiting lists" for the free services. As in England and
Wales, the independent sector has also found that contract prices offered by
local authorities often fail to keep pace with inflation and other statutory
burdens on employers.
Standards
The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care has
been merged with the Social Work Inspection Agency to form the Social Care and
Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) from the 1st April 2011. In its final
report of grading registered services, the Scottish Commission for the
Regulation of Care, it found that care at home services achieved some of the
best sets of grades of services for adults, with 80% of services achieving
grade 4 or above in every theme and 25% of services achieving grade 5 or above
for every theme.
Statutory regulators
- Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland
(SCSWIS), Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY. Telephone:
0845 6009527. www.scswis.com.
- Scottish Social Services Council, Compass House, 11
Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY. Telephone: 01382 207101. www.sssc.uk.com.
Legislation
Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. Available to
download from the Office of Public Sector Information www.opsi.gov.uk. For sale telephone The Stationary Office: 0870 600 5522.
National Care Standards: Care at Home 2005. Available from
the Scottish Executive Telephone: 08457 741 741 and to download from HERE.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland a major review of public
administration has created five Health and Social Care Trusts that operate both
health and social care services. The proportion of statutory funded care
delivered by the independent sector under contract to the Trusts is growing.
The Trusts assess need for help at home according to certain eligibility
criteria, and in Northern Ireland, domestic services, using the traditional
nomenclature of "home help" services are still largely available.
However, as with the rest of the UK there are signs that such services are
being cut back, according to campaigners such as Age Concern and Help the Aged
NI. The independent sector has also found that contract prices offered by the
Trusts often fail to keep pace with inflation and other statutory burdens on
employers.
In 2008 Northern Ireland homecare providers were regulated
and inspected for the first time by the Regulation and Quality Improvement
Authority (RQIA).
Statutory regulators
- Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA),
9th Floor, Riverside Tower, 5 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3BT. Telephone:
02890 517500. www.rqia.org.uk.
- Northern Ireland Social Care Council, 7th
Floor, Millennium House, 19-25 Great Victoria Street, Belfast, BT2 7AQ.
Telephone: 02890 417600. www.niscc.info/default.htm.
Legislation
The Health and Personal Social Services (Quality,
Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. Available to
download from the Office of Public Sector Information www.opsi.gov.uk.
The Domiciliary Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 Statutory Rule 2007
No.235. Available to download from the Office of Public Sector Information HERE. For sale telephone The Stationary Office: 0870 600 5522.
Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care Agencies (2008).
Available to download from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public
Safety Northern Ireland. Available to download HERE or via DHSSPS telephone: 02890
522800
