There are further major changes in the immediate future. These include registering dental practitioners and practices for the first time (effective from April 2011) and recommending better standards such as the installation of decontamination rooms.

For many patients, knowing your dentist and dental nurse have passed the Criminal Records Bureau checks before saying “Open Wide” is a comfort and reassurance, but the setting and enforcing of standards of treatment, accommodation and equipment are of primary importance . For Care Homes (Nursing and Residential) changes in the register, abolition of the star ratings, greater self certification and fewer physical inspections mean a sea change in monitoring, administrating and indeed lending to such businesses.

For banks, owners and investors these are volatile times and understanding the complex changes and their effects upon businesses is difficult.  We will be holding some workshop sessions when our highly experienced and knowledgeable experts will be on hand to guide you painlessly through the changes and consequences, making buying, lending and investing far safer and easier. 

The independent Care Quality Commission was created to replace CSCI in April 2009, in order to service a rapidly expanding need to regulate and register those individuals and organisations providing healthcare services to the general public, including both state and private providers.

Much of this expansion resulted from the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which came into force in October 2010 creating a new set of essential standards of quality and safety relating to healthcare delivery.

So what does this huge Quango actually do?

• It registers providers of healthcare and social care
• It monitors how providers comply with set standards
• It enforces requirements by recommendation, fines, public warnings and can also close units down
• It acts to protect patient rights
• It promotes improvements in services