April 01 2009 saw the end of CSCI, the Commission for Social Care Inspection as it merged with the NHS Healthcare commission and a third body involving detentions under the Mental Health Act.
The new Care Quality Commission (CQC), headed by Baroness Young, has already released it's first report about how the credit crunch could hit the elderly through care homes being forced to make cuts in care levels due to lack of government funding.
Joan Bakewell, a pioneer of rights for the elderly comments in The Times on this report and is cynical about the real powers of the CQC, fearing that "thorough and sympathetic reports will be delivered and then left to moulder on government shelves."
The Guardian worries that mergers of this kind can be difficult with in-fighting and a mass of new responsibilities leading to a lack of focus on the real issues, but ends on a hopeful note emphasising that the need for this merger is very real, with too many elderly falling through the current gap between the NHS and social care.
More information about the CQC and how they will be monitoring quality in Care Homes is available at their website.
Is this a real improvement or just another of the Governments cost savings disguised as improvements? The care of the elderly and the associated costs are under increasing pressure - do we really need another change in regulation??
What is needed is the confidence that the elderly do get the care they deserve at a cost which either families or local authorities can afford.
Posted by: Roger Mannion | Apr 06, 2009 at 11:04