Is it really true that a charity day centre does not need to be CQC registered?

Answered by Ed Watkinson

Thanks for your question. As bizarre as it seems day centres do not currently need to be registered even if they are providing personal care. It does seem a bit of a loophole, but legally the CQC state if you are not providing a ‘regulated activity’ you do not need to register.

The CQC define that to be a regulated activity the personal care must be provided in the person’s own home. As you are providing the personal care within a day centre, this is not their own home and therefore is not a regulated activity and you do not need to register with CQC.

Another ‘regulated activity’ is ‘providing accommodation for persons requiring nursing or personal care’, and as a day centre you are not providing overnight accommodation and the centre is not a place of residence, so you are not a ‘location’ as defined by CQC and therefore do not need to be registered with them.

So, in summary there are two reasons that registration is not necessary – you do not support people in their own home and you do not provide accommodation for the people using the day centre.