Landlords who deal with care must beware of new law requiring registration

Registered providers involved in supported housing or independent living schemes for service users with learning difficulties who were not required to register previously under the Care Standards Act 2000 should beware. They could be caught by the registration requirements of the new care standards regime if, as part of their service, they prompt and supervise clients in relation to personal care. If so, they will need to submit an application to register with the Care Quality Commission by 31 July.

New legislation

This new requirement is the result of legislative change that sees the Care Standards Act 2000 repealed by the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and the National Minimum Standards succeeded by the 28 Essential Standards of Quality and Safety.

All adult social care and independent healthcare providers carrying out regulated activities must be registered with the CQC in order to be able to continue to provide these services from 1 October.

Existing registered providers have been going through the registration process since April as there is no automatic transfer of the existing Care Standards Act registrations.

Some services that involve the delivery of personal care by way of prompting and supervision have not previously been regulated. The new act introduces a broader definition of ‘personal care’ in the regulations which govern regulated activities.

Who must register?

The services most likely to require registration are those where service users are prompted and supervised with eating, drinking, using the toilet, washing or bathing, dressing, oral care or the care of skin, hair and nails.

The prompting and supervision must be for a person who is unable to decide whether to perform such activities themselves without this support. Existing domiciliary care providers already registered to deliver personal care may find they have additional services that must be included in their registration. The location of these services will be the places from which they are managed rather than individuals’ homes where they are provided.

Enforcement

If a provider continues a regulated activity from 1 October without being registered, the CQC has the a whole range of enforcement powers which would include the ability to prosecute the person carrying on the regulated activity.

The CQC has said that it will be proportionate in its response and will consider the public interest when deciding to use its enforcement powers. It has indicated it will take into account the following factors: if the activity was carried out as a one-off response to unexpected and rare circumstances, the failure to carry out the activity would have led to serious potential for harm, injury or death and assuming that no actual no harm resulted from the activity having been carried out.

Such instances are likely to be exceptional and to avoid the risk of prosecution providers should make sure they don’t get left out in the cold by missing deadlines for registration.