Oversight and regulation

The Care Quality Commission in its 2021 strategy commits to assess how well local health and care systems are working together which is likely to be underpinned by legislation in the forthcoming Health and Care Bill. We will have to wait and see what changes are included in the Bill to deal with the issues of regulation across the newly emerging integrated care systems.

Blogs from our legal experts:

  • System oversight in the new Integrated Care Systems
    Ahead of the Health and Care Bill entering Committee stage on Tuesday 7 September we discuss the future role of the Care Quality Commission in regulating ICSs – an issue that has yet to be clarified.

  • Extending medical examiner scrutiny to deaths in non-acute settings
    According to a system letter sent to NHS leaders earlier this month, all health settings now need to implement medical examiner systems for scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths as early as possible in 2021/22, so that all deaths are scrutinised by the end of March 2022.

  • Regulator’s new 2021 strategy for the health and care sector 
    The CQC’s new strategy commits to adopt a more proportionate and risk-based approach to regulation – a model NHS Providers say will be welcomed by Trust leaders, particularly if this leads to less reliance on inspections and reduces the overall burden.

  • National Quality Board on quality in ICSs 
    Last month this three page Position Statement was published for those working in health and care systems. It starts with a reminder of the Triple Aim duty to “deliver high quality care and put quality, including safety, at the forefront of planning an decision making”.

  • Update: CQC on its regulatory approach from April 2021
    In March 2020 CQC paused its routine inspections with activity focused on where there was a risk to people’s safety. In January 2021 the CQC continued to only undertake inspection activity where there were serious risks to people’s safety or where it supported the health and care system’s response to the pandemic. This leaner approach enabled health and care organisations to work together, delivering care in new and innovative ways according to a report published on 17 March 2021 by NHS Providers.

  • CQC and system level regulation
    Following the publication of the Department’s White Paper on health and care, the Parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee have been examining the proposals in Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care.

  • Safety and quality and the NHS White Paper
    This contains some 14 proposals relating to social care, public health and safety and quality. Looking just at safety and quality the following measures are worthy of particular note.

ICS hub

Our Integrated Care Systems hub page includes a wide range of resources to help provide answers and guidance on a variety of legal issues specifically for professionals working at systems, place-based or neighbourhood levels.
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