Michael Vaughan, owner and registered manager of Red Rocks Nursing Home in Wirral, contacted Caring Times to speak out against the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC)‘s recent email correspondence about data collection. 

Vaughan feels that a recent email from DHSC titled “DHSC Provider Workshop 23 May 2022“ implies that, in meeting the government’s “ambition to improve the quality and timeliness of adult social care data”, the Health and Care Act provides new powers to DHSC to collect data from private care providers, with failure to comply resulting in enforcement action and the imposition of financial penalties for non-compliance.

“My vehement objection on mine and other care providers’ behalf, is based on care providers being referred to in this and many other communications as being ‘stakeholders’ in one breath, or, as care providers are commonly used to being referred to by local Councils or CCG’s, as ‘partners’ – only to then be threatened with new mandatory requirements to provide this data free of charge,” said Vaughan. “Failing this, we will be fined, or worse still possibly even have their CQC rating downgraded, which is a commonly veiled threat we also receive regularly.

“Care home providers are, in the main, private businesses or companies. They are not owned by the government or NHS. I am pretty sure there would be uproar if the government started imposing this kind of onerous requirement on, let’s say, the tourism, hotel or foodservice and hospitality sectors, with financial punishments for failing to comply. Why should care providers, apparently ‘valued partners’ who the country should be desperate to retain, be treated any differently? It’s a disgrace.”

“If this kind of onerous data collection was being produced by a government department, the time required would come from that department’s budget and payroll allocation,” concluded Vaughan. “Private care home providers, it seems, are expected to fund the costs of providing the government with this sometimes-extensive data out of their own pockets. This is simply not fair.”

What are your thoughts on the proposals for collecting data from private care providers? Have your say by emailing [email protected], or leaving a comment on Twitter tagging @Caring_Times.