CARE QUALITY COMMISSION REGISTRATION

CQC
The Health and Social Care Act introduced a new, single registration system that applies to all health care and adult social services. The registration system is based on the CQC assessment of the ability of providers to ensure the quality of people’s experiences of the care they receive.

Independent healthcare providers
All primary dental care providers in England, whether NHS or private, must be now be registered with the CQC. This includes fully private practices. Private doctors must now be registered and medical practices that carry out NHS work must be registered by April 2012. The CQC is currently sending out letters to medical practices who are not yet registered. These letters are informing the practice that they are trading illegally. However if the practice starts the registration process, it is usually given 120 days to complete it.

Provider
A service provider can be an individual, a partnership or an organisation, for example a company, an NHS trust or an individual, It is the legal entity (whether this is an individual, partnership or organisation) that provides the service to people that registers. Expense sharing partnerships must register separately as providers or one can register and take responsibility for the other..

Registered Manager
Where the provider is not in charge of the day-to-day running of the service, a manager must register. In the case of a group of practices, a practice manager can be the Registered Manager for more than one practice so long as they are in charge on a day-to-day basis.

Nominated Individual
All applicants who are not individuals or partnerships must have a Nominated Individual who must be employed as a director, manager or secretary with responsibility for supervising the regulated activity.

CRB/DBS Checks
Providers, Nominated Individuals and Registered Managers must apply for an enhanced CRB/DBS Checks through the CQC, nurses, dentists, hygienists and staff should register through an umbrella body. Read more here.

Location
A Location is a place where people receive the regulated activity, (dental care). Where the dentist carries out regulated activities at treatment rooms or a variety of places, the provider can select one address as the Location, from where the regulated activity is managed.

Evidence
Evidence is how you show that you are meeting the regulations and providing the outcomes to patients. In Clinical Governance Made Simple (GCMS) you can use the the document called ‘Outcomes and Evidence (G 106A), to check that you have all of the evidence for CQC requirements. It can also be used as a reference if you have an inspection from ar a Care Quality Commission inspector. Evidence includes procedures, policies, risk assessments, audits and training records.

Statement of Purpose
The provider must have a statement of purpose with the aims and objectives of the service provider in carrying on the regulated activity and other information. There is a draft Statement of Purpose in CGMS (G 106B).

CQC Fees
The fees for registration can be found here

Read about Clinical Governance Made Simple - the solution to CQC compliance here.