Update for care service providers on coronavirus

The current outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) is a serious concern for everyone working in the care sector.

The Care Inspectorate has a duty to consider carefully how best to support care services in the vital work they do caring for vulnerable people.

We have taken the decision to scale down our inspections of care services and our joint inspections of local authority social work services and health and social care partnerships at this time, and put in place arrangements which will involve gathering information, assessing the level of risk in care services and establishing assurances about the quality of care people experience.

In order to protect the safety and wellbeing of people experiencing care we are only making visits to services when that is absolutely necessary. 

We are also planning to operate in a similar manner around complaints.

Anyone with a concern about a care service should, in the first instance, raise this with the manager of the service. The Care Inspectorate will consider complaints and will apply a risk assessment that may result in complaints being referred to the service provider for investigation. 

We will be prioritising our registration work that supports the national response to the coronavirus outbreak and the sustainability of services.

We've updated our website to give up-to-date guidance and information on coronavirus for care services. 

• Coronavirus
• Covid-19

Revised notification guidance in light of coronavirus outbreak

In light of the current outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19, we have revised our notifications guidance with immediate effect and until further notice. Every registered service with the Care Inspectorate must complete a notification of ‘Outbreak of Infectious Disease’ via their eForms account.

• Providers must notify the Care Inspectorate within 24 hours of any suspected or known case or outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19.  

We do not require to be notified if carers or family members of people you provide care for are in self-isolation. In the case of day care of children services or childminders, we do not require to be notified if children are at home as a precaution, following self-isolation guidance. 

We do require that you notify us of any of the following situations that include people who use care services, all staff and any volunteers, visiting professionals, visitors or visiting contractors or suppliers that people within the service have had contact with. Within 24 hours providers must notify us of the following:

• any confirmed cases of coronavirus Covid-19
• cases where people have been tested and are awaiting the results
• cases where people have been informed they will be tested   
• cases where staff are self-isolating
• cases where people receiving care are self-isolating
• childminding services where either the childminder or their family members are self-isolating and the service is not operational.

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

You can download our revised guidance below:

• records that all registered care services (except childminding) must keep and guidance on notification reporting
• records childminding services must keep and notification reporting guidance

• Coronavirus
• Covid-19
• Notifications