Sheffield Local Involvement Network

LINk has reponded to the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) consultation on its new Award for Excellence in Social Care. The new voluntary award, for adult social care services in England, is due to launch in April 2012 and will be delivered by third-party organisations under licence to the CQC.

The consultation, which closed on August 1, aimed to gather people’s views on a new definition of excellence as developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), and key aspects of the assessment process. Questions asked about a number of areas including views on the new definition of excellence, how evidence should be gathered and under what circumstances a provider would lose the award.

At LINk's July Discussion Forum (see more about the whole event in July's Bulletin) there was time for some debate around the consultation. About 20 people were present and raised some significant concerns around the cost, running and nature of the award. They also questioned whether the cost of applying for the award could be better spent on services. The views expressed were captured and written up in LINk's official response to CQC Excellence Award consultation.