Hi Sheila, can I open a rest home of my own without QCS involved?

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear Jackie,

I have made the assumption that you wanted to ask about CQC registration rather than QCS the company, however have answered for both.

In relation to CQC, the answer is no you cannot.

Any care home operating in England needs to be registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and any person who is managing such premises needs to be registered with the CQC too.

There is a useful blog on the Quality Compliance Systems (QCS) website entitled “7 ways to get fined by The Care Quality Commission”.

This is what it says about providing services when you are unregistered:

To fulfil its mission of making sure that health services meet essential standards of quality and safety, the Care Quality Commission has introduced a new registration system. For GP and dental practices and providers of adult social care in England, continuing to operate without being registered may result in criminal prosecution and a fine of up to £50,000.

You can read the full blog here.

https://www.qcs.co.uk/useful-guides/7-ways-to-get-fined-by-the-care-quality-commission/

You are not obliged to use QCS policies and procedures and can provide your own, however, for peace of mind you may choose to use these to demonstrate compliance when registered with CQC.

I hope this is helpful.

Sheila