The Department plans to make major changes to the way that health and adult social care is regulated and performance managed from a currently planned date of April 2009. The consultation document contains the proposed changes to the regulations governing the independent healthcare sector as well as the proposed changes to the associated National Minimum Standards.
You may respond to the consultation by downloading and filling in the questionnaire relevant to your organisation (see links below). We would also encourage you to respond to any of the remaining questionnaires you may have an interest in.
The Government's approach to the regulation of businesses calls for a proportionate and risk-based approach to regulation. Having considered the private and voluntary healthcare services currently in regulation to establish whether all regulation continues to be proportionate and risk-based, the Department of Health believes that the following services do not need to continue to be regulated by the Healthcare Commission in order to ensure the provision of safe and effective services:
The removal of these services from regulation by the Healthcare Commission in order to move to a more risk-based regulation system fits well with the Department's proposed role for regulation in the future.
This chapter contains proposals to make other, relatively minor amendments to the Private and Voluntary Healthcare Regulations to ensure that they continue to reflect the Department's policy on the regulation of these services and providers.