National Care Service: questions and answers - engagement sessions

Regulation

What impact will the National Care Service have on the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)? Will there be changes to registration and qualifications?

• The SSSC will continue to operate as the independent professional regulator for the social work and social services workforce in Scotland. It will sit outside the framework for the National Care Service.
• There will be little impact. The SSSC is currently undertaking a program of work with stakeholders to look at the parts of the register and qualification levels. Full details can be found on the SSSC website.

Will the Care Inspectorate still be the independent regulator to Scottish care services?

• The Care Inspectorate will continue to operate as the independent regulator for Scotland care services. It will sit outside the framework of the National Care Service (but work in collaboration with it in relation to the delivery of social care services in Scotland).

What do Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) know about care homes?

• The Bill contains a new power which would enable HIS to provide a clinical advisory role alongside CI in relation to CI inspections, for example, to provide clinical care practice and infection prevention and control advice.
• During the pandemic, a "joint arrangement" way of working was established between the Care Inspectorate (CI) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) connected to the functions that the CI carries out under Part 5 of the 2010 Act. HIS staff worked with CI with the objective of assisting the CI with the clinical aspects of inspections of care homes (e.g. infection prevention and control) under Part 5 of the 2010 Act. This provided increased additional capacity to the CI during the pandemic.
• Whilst pandemic related issues in care homes have become less acute, it is nevertheless important that CI and HIS have no impediments to collaborative working should the need arise again in the future.