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Exclusive: Care homes plan to withhold funds to CQC in protest at how they handled coronavirus

Senior carer Jo Battams and housekeeper Gillie Gillroy, who remain on site with six colleagues, play Jenga with resident Iris Hook at Fremantle Trust care home, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease - Reuters
Senior carer Jo Battams and housekeeper Gillie Gillroy, who remain on site with six colleagues, play Jenga with resident Iris Hook at Fremantle Trust care home, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease - Reuters
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter

Care providers are calling on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to waive its registration fees this year, amid accusations the watchdog has “gone Awol” during the coronavirus outbreak.

The call came after a leading care home body expressed its “disappointment” with the role played by CQC during the Covid-19 crisis.

The CQC charges upto £16,096 in registration fees per year depending on the size of the care home.

But cash-strapped providers are questioning whether they should pay this year when fewer inspections are being carried out, and the watchdog itself has faced criticism over its slow response.

Last week, Judy Downey, chair of The Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA) wrote to the CQC’s chief executive Ian Trenholm saying there had been a “lack of oversight and scrutiny” of care homes during the crisis.

She added that many residents had felt “totally abandoned” when the CQC suspended its care home inspections.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told the Telegraph: "The CQC has sat on its hands for a long time and then produced a framework which only amounts to back watching for them. They aren't carrying out full inspections so why should care providers be paying them for a job they cannot do?

“Lots of things have come out of this pandemic and one of them is that a lot of these quangos are not fit for purpose. The CQC should be saying: ‘We are not going to be taking fees this year’.”

He said he had contacted CQC about it but they had “steadfastly refused to respond.”

Nadra Ahmed, chairman of the National Care Association, said: “We have tried to get CQC to suspend fees but they have refused point blank on each occasion. They claim they are still working behind the scenes in the ‘public interest’.

“It is outrageous when there have been notable concessions from others to support the sector.”

Accusing the CQC of “failing to engage” over deaths in care homes, she added: “They have been AWOL during this period.”

From March 2 to May 1, 2020, Covid-19 was confirmed or suspected in the deaths of 12,526 individuals living in care homes in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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Coronavirus podcast newest episode

Care homes have also been hit by an alarming increase in "excess deaths", with around 18,000 more reported in April than the monthly average. To date, 131 social care staff have died from coronavirus.

Although the Government insists more than 1.2 billion pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been delivered to care providers in England - some care homes have reported receiving just 300 masks since the outbreak began.

The Government has also come under fire for advising until March 12 that it remained “very unlikely” that people in care homes could be affected and for allowing hospital patients to be discharged to care homes without being tested for the disease.

Meanwhile, the latest data has shown that the Government is considerably short of a target to test every care home patient by "early June". Just 5 per cent were tested in the last week, down from 6 per cent in the previous period, according to a study of 1,200 homes.

It has given £3.6 billion to local authorities to support the social care sector - but some providers claim not to have received “a penny” of the money.

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Coronavirus Carehome postcode lookup

Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive at the CQC, said: “ We are continuing to inspect in response to whistleblowing concerns and where we see evidence of risk of harm, deliberate abuse, systematic neglect or a significant breakdown in leadership.

Kate Terroni, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, insisted its Emergency Support Framework was “providing support” and “keeping people safe”.

A CQC spokesman said: “Where providers are temporarily changing their registration status as part of an emergency response to Covid-19 they will not see an increased fee.

"If providers receive an invoice with an incorrect fee in these circumstances, we will ensure they receive the necessary credit or refund.

“We recognise that providers may find themselves in additional financial difficulty during this period, we will be asking them to contact us if this is the case and will work constructively with them to find an appropriate solution.”