The Care Quality Commission is preparing to make a significant change to how care services are assessed. On 24 March 2026, draft proposals were published outlining a move away from the current Single Assessment Framework towards more sector-specific approaches. For care home owners, this is not a minor update. It signals a shift in how…
Read More
Fabio Cecchi, Commercial Director at Fulcrum Care, shares the organisation’s response to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) March update and explains what the proposed move towards sector-specific inspection frameworks could mean for providers. In its March update, CQC provided further detail on how it intends to evolve its regulatory approach following feedback on the single…
Read More
A sector facing sustained cost increases Running a care home has always required balancing high-quality care with financial sustainability. For many providers today, however, that balance is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Across the adult social care sector, operating costs are rising across multiple areas at the same time. Staffing costs continue to increase as…
Read More
A spotlight on specialist care home settings Following a review of recent Inadequate-rated CQC assessment reports published for care homes specialising in dementia care, several clear and recurring themes have emerged. While the details differed from service to service, the wider patterns were consistent: weak oversight, poor governance, ineffective risk management and a failure to…
Read More
Recent analysis from The King’s Fund highlights the continuing pressures facing the adult social care workforce in England. Although vacancy rates have improved slightly, the sector still faces well over 100,000 vacancies, and many providers continue to rely heavily on international recruitment to maintain staffing levels. For those working closely with care providers, these findings…
Read More
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has recently announced proposals to introduce sector-specific frameworks for assessing health and social care services. The proposed changes, outlined in the regulator’s latest update, are intended to make inspections clearer, more consistent and more relevant to different areas of care while continuing to focus on the CQC’s five core questions:…
Read More
Community Integrated Care has released the fifth edition of its Unfair to Care report, highlighting ongoing workforce inequalities and mounting financial pressures across the adult social care sector. The latest report, Unfair to Care 2026 – Signs of Change, examines pay disparities between adult social care support workers and equivalent NHS roles, alongside the wider…
Read More
Applying for CQC registration is one of the most significant regulatory steps a care provider will take. For many organisations, it is also where avoidable delays, refusals or conditions first arise. Despite this, CQC registration is still widely misunderstood. Too often, applications are approached as a compliance exercise rather than what they actually are: an…
Read More
In January 2026, the Care Quality Commission published 181 care home inspection reports. The outcomes were as follows: Outstanding: 7 Good: 87 Requires Improvement: 72 Inadequate: 15 At the headline level, the distribution is familiar. Most services sit within the middle ground, with a relatively small proportion at either end of the ratings spectrum. What…
Read More
Fabio Cecchi, Commercial Director at Fulcrum Care, outlines how providers can give themselves the best possible chance of successfully challenging a CQC report. A CQC inspection report can have lasting implications for a service. Beyond public ratings, reports shape regulatory history, influence commissioning confidence and inform future inspection and enforcement activity. From working with providers…
Read More