Ministers extend Red Tape Challenge to 500+ health and social care regulations
The Government has put more than 500 health and social care regulations under the microscope as part of its latest ‘Red Tape Challenge’.
Ministers have also separately called for businesses to comment on how enforcement of the rules governing adult care homes can be improved.
The Health Living and Social Care Red Tape Challenge, which will last six weeks, covers more than 500 regulations relating to:
- Public Health: These regulations cover various aspects of public health including Ionising Radiation, Abortion and Human Fertilisation, Infectious Diseases, Human Tissue, Health Protection, Health Start and Tobacco.
- Quality of Care/Mental Health: These regulations relate to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Health and Social Care and Mental Health.
- The NHS: These regulations cover various aspects of NHS operations, including NHS Finance (e.g. Clinical Negligence Scheme, Charges for Overseas Visitors etc), NHS Pharmaceutical, General Medical, Dental Services and defunct NHS bodies.
- Professional Standards: These regulations relate to various professional bodies including the General Medical, Dental, Nursing and Midwifery, Chiropractic, Optical, Osteopathic, Pharmaceutical and Social Care Councils.
“We want to identify which of these regulations should be scrapped or improved to boost growth and jobs and give health professionals more time to care for patients, without weakening necessary public health safeguards,” the Government said.
Public Health Minister Anna Soubry said: “This challenge will give the public, healthcare workers and clinicians a vital opportunity to let us know how we can improve the way we regulate or how we can do things differently, whilst ensuring the public is protected.
“We will use the feedback they give us to plan how to get rid of requirements that are no longer needed, freeing up business from unnecessary red tape and giving health professionals more time to care for patients.”
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has meanwhile launched a Focus on Enforcement review for the adult care homes sector. It will consider all regulatory activity undertaken by national regulators and local authorities.
DBIS said: “It [the review] will focus solely on the way regulation is delivered, not on underlying legislation, and will look in particular at the following areas:
- The extent of overlaps, gaps and coordination between different regulatory regimes affecting care homes.
- The extent to which compliance and enforcement activity in care homes is: proportionate to the risks it seeks to mitigate; consistent; transparent; and accountable.
- The requirements placed on providers by the commissioners of care services, and how these link to other regulatory requirements.
- Whether providers are being subjected to unnecessary pressures and costs by third parties.”
The Department called for input from those who work in the sector as well as from operators of homes.
Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “People deserve high quality, safe care. Enforcing regulation more effectively will allow providers to focus on better protecting residents.
“People working in the care homes sector are well placed to tell us where the system is working, and where confusing or contradictory requirements are getting in the way. But we are also keen to hear from everyone with an interest who has evidence of how enforcement can be improved.”