The Care Home Quality Commission (CQC) has suspended routine inspections of care homes in England in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The authority has written to all registered health and social care providers about how it is adapting its regulatory approach due to pandemic, updating a previous 4 March update.
The changes include stopping routine inspections from today (16 March), a shift towards other, remote methods to give assurance of safety and quality of care; some inspection activity in a small number of cases, for example where there are allegations of abuse; and giving extra support to registered managers in adult social care.
The CQC called on providers to notify it of any suspected or known case or outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 within 24 hours.
“This means one or more cases involving staff, people who use services, volunteers, visiting professionals, visitors or visiting contractors/suppliers that people within the service have had contact with,” said chief executive Ian Trenholm (pictured).
“We encourage everyone to act in the best interests of the health of the people they serve, with the top priority the protection of life. We encourage you to use your discretion and act in the best way you see fit,” he added.
The CQC said meanwhile it will continue to request Provider Information Returns (PIRs) but would not penalise providers for their late return.
