The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is to resume this autumn the routine inspection of adult social care providers across England.
Routine inspection of care homes was suspended on 16 March in response to the deepening Covid-19 pandemic.
The CQC has instead been monitoring social care under its Emergency Support Framework (ESF), typically by phone.
“As the situation evolves and the impact on the health and social care system changes, we’ll be adapting the ESF tool to be used alongside our responsive visits and a managed return to routine inspection of lower risk services in the autumn,” the CQC said in a statement.
“Inspectors are now scheduling inspections of higher risk services to take place over the summer.”
The CQC said 17 inspections of adult social care providers have been conducted since the cessation of routine inspections on 16 March, of which 11 were as result of concerns raised by staff or members of the public.
The remainder were in response to notifications from the provider or information from key stakeholders.
The CQC meanwhile said there has been an increase in calls to its national contact centre during the pandemic from staff raising concerns about care.
It received 2,612 calls from adult social care staff raising concerns in the period 2 March to 31 May, compared to 1,685 for the same period in 2019 – a 55 per cent increase.
Some 26 per cent of the calls related to lack of PPE or other infection control products, while 32 per cent percent of calls included concerns about how infection control or social distancing was being practiced at the service they worked. Four per cent referred to quality of care being impacted by Covid-19.
"It’s in everyone’s interests that staff are able to speak up freely and are not prevented from raising their concerns about quality and safety – and all providers have a responsibility to support their staff to share concerns safely without fear of reprisal,” said CQC chief inspector of adult social care Kate Terroni (pictured).
"Staff have been going to extraordinary lengths to deliver good, safe care during this global crisis – if they are experiencing barriers to the delivery of that care, we want to hear from them and we are encouraged that so many staff have been brave enough to raise concerns with us," she added.
