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THINGS ARE CHANGING FAST
at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) this summer.
In the light of previous negative publicity there is a new structure and a new
approach developing. CQC say that by October there will be a
new inspection methodology in place, so inspectors
will be looking for different things and writing
different reports.
The big news for the substance misuse
sector is that all treatment services,
whether residential or community
services, will be based within the
hospital directorate; more
specifically within the section of
this directorate that deals with
‘community-based services for people
with mental health needs’. This means
that there should be a similarity of
approach to community drug and alcohol
services and residential rehabilitation services.
We wait to see whether this means that the
methodology being developed will be more similar
to clinical treatment services than adult social
care. For a long while residential services battled
to be thought of as ‘treatment services’ rather than
‘care homes’, so maybe this will lead to a more
realistic and ‘joined-up’ approach to inspection?
Another piece of good news is that CQC has
appointed a ‘national professional advisor and policy
manager for substance misuse’. Her name is Violeta
Ainslie and she used to work as treatment provider
with Cranstoun Drug Services until very recently. I am
personally very encouraged on two counts. Firstly, this
is a full-time post dedicated to this sector. In my
The Care Quality
Commission is about
to unveil new plans for
inspecting substance
misuse treatment
services, as
David Finney
explains
16 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| July 2014
Services |
Regulation
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
All change
previous role, the substance misuse sector was only a small part of my job; now
there is someone dedicated to the sector, who can join up all the dots within CQC
and be a point of reference for external agencies. Secondly, as someone who
was recently working within the sector, she is well placed to understand the
unique characteristics of substance misuse treatment.
Part of the national advisor’s role will be to set up an ‘expert group’, which will
be a reference point for the development of the new methodology for this sector.
At the time of writing, this group was due to begin its deliberations at the
beginning of July. The next step will be publishing a ‘signposting’ document which
will chart the way forward and explain when the new methodology is likely to be
implemented. So, while the adult social care sector is planning to implement in
October 2014, the substance misuse sector may have to wait a while. The
message is, ‘watch this space!’
Having completed the first consultation phase on 4 June, in which CQC tested
various elements of the new methodology in hospitals and care homes, CQC will
now no doubt use some of the feedback and incorporate it in the new approach
to the substance misuse treatment sector.