Covid-19 frequently asked questions

We are receiving questions from services on a daily basis. We have captured some of the most frequently asked questions and added a page to our website. We are updating this regularly as more information becomes available.


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Contacting the Care Inspectorate

The Care Inspectorate is following Government guidance about working from home to keep our staff safe. 

In line with this we changed the way we are working and this includes the way we handle enquiries from the public.

Anyone who needs to contact the Care Inspectorate should email our Contact Centre via this email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

We are increasing our capacity to answer enquiries via email with dedicated inspectors able to respond to enquiries where necessary. 

Information for the public, the care sector and care professionals is available on our website and we would encourage everyone to check there in the first instance. 

Our offices are also closed to members of the public until further notice. 

If your enquiry is about the current coronavirus outbreak, you can find up to date information here.

We've also added a FAQs page.


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Update on the closure of schools and early learning and childcare settings

The Deputy First Minister has issued a letter with an update on the closure of schools and early learning and childcare settings. You can read the letter here.


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Registration and variation guidance for our staff

To support flexibility and responsiveness to the health emergency, we have produced contingency registration and variation guidance for our staff to follow. You can download it here. 


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Revised notifications guidance for care service providers

As of 19 March, we have further revised our notifications guidance as follows.

Services must notify us within 24 hours if someone using the service has:

  • a suspected case of Covid-19
  • a confirmed case of Covid-19
  • died due to Covid-19.

We do not require to be notified about staff or self-isolation. 

We may share the notification information with third parties as required to assist with emergency and contingency planning, and to monitor the virus spread in care services.

You should inform your health and social care partnership or local authority.

You can download our revised guidance below:


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