Excellence Award Consultation Begins

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) today announces the start of a consultation on a new excellence award for adult social care services in England.

The new voluntary award, due to launch in April 2012, will be delivered by third party organisations under licence to CQC.

The consultation seeks people’s views on a definition of excellence, developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), and key aspects of the assessment process.

Cynthia Bower, CQC’s chief executive, said:

“Many social care services work tirelessly day in day out to provide the very best of care. That dedication should be recognised and people who are looking for care, either for themselves or for their loved ones, should have a way to identify these excellent providers. It’s important that we take in the views of people who use social care services, providers and commissioners on what they think excellent care should look like and how a service applying for the scheme should be measured and judged. I would strongly urge everyone to give us their views and help us shape the scheme.”

The consultation document asks the following questions:

* Do you agree with SCIE’s definition of excellence?

* What sort of evidence should be gathered to demonstrate excellence?

* Should the scheme offer a pre-screening process for providers?

* How long should the award last?

* Under what circumstances would a provider lose the award?

The consultation runs until 1 August 2011.

May 2011