Excellence Award Update – Award now suspended for the immediate future.

 

The recent consultation carried out by the CQC into the implementation of the Excellence Award appear to have thrown up a number of “issues” that will need to be resolved before the model can be implemented. As a result the award is currently not going ahead as planned and the Commission will concentrate instead on getting the Quality and Risk Profiles correct.

 

The key themes to the consultation are as follows:

 

1. The current working definition as supplied by the Social Care Institute for Excellence is not sufficiently different from the Essential Standards,

2. As applications are to be voluntary, there is a potential for information supplied to the general public to be misleading,

3. If there are to multiple assessment schemes then there will be inconsistency in assessment results (here we go again),

4. Yet another cost.

 

Although the CQC had hoped that this scheme was going to be an “Investors in People” type scheme, it looks as if the CQC hadn’t considered the much greater financial implications to Providers of having / not having the Award.

 

For those who did respond to the CQC consultation, they were looking for the following:

 

Service Users / Patients: information that will help them make valid judgements about which Providers to use,

Commissioners: Information to differentiate Providers,

Providers: a system that differentiates them and rewards them for their efforts (possibly an “excellent”, “good”, “fair”, “poor” system as opposed to “Excellent”, “Compliant”).

 

The CQC therefore had three possible options:

 

Option 1: Carry on regardless with the Excellence Award,

With this option the CQC would therefore:

1. Award the license to award to one or two providers only,

2. Negotiate a delayed implementation date,

3. Reduce costs for Providers,

4. Develop other incentives,

5. Distinguish between Providers who haven’t applied, have failed in their application, and those that have had it removed.

 

Option 2: Explore options to include “good” category,

This is problematic for a number of reasons, mainly because the CQC estimate that this would increase the expected participation rate from about 15% to approximately 80% (presumably Providers would then see it as being useful), which would therefore create duplication with normal on-going compliance checks.

 

Option 3: Do something else, either with or without the CQC.

There are other options here: TLAP markers, 360 Forward, RDB Star ratings, ASCOT or wait for the NICE standards and White Paper.

 

So, for those who were considering gearing up for the Excellence Award, the safest course at moment is to continue to work on achieving the Essential Standards as comprehensively as possible. Should the Award go ahead (which I believe will happen as it fits in so well with the Health and Social Care Bill White Paper and increasing competition within the sector) any Provider who does apply for it will need to show a track record of compliance with the Essential Standards.

 

As always, if you need further information, call me in the office on 01325 318 028.

 

Mark Hughes
Director