Regulations for service providers and managers

This guidance was first published on 1 April 2015. It sets out our guidance for providers on meeting two groups of regulations:

• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (Part 3)
• Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (Part 4)

Section 23 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (HSCA 2008) says that CQC must produce guidance to help providers to comply with the regulations made under this Act. We therefore developed this guidance with the help of people who use services, organisations that represent them, health and adult social care providers, other regulators and professional bodies.

The regulations set out in this guidance apply to all registered persons (providers and managers) registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that carry on regulated activities. There are many different types of services that are governed by the regulations. See the full list of service types.

The guidance does not attempt to describe in detail how the regulations apply to each type of service registered with CQC, but we will be proportionate in how we apply the regulations to different types of services. We will consider the size and type of services and the relevance of the regulation to the regulated activity provided. For example, when inspecting providers of personal care to people in their own home we would not assess Regulation 15: Premises and equipment, or when inspecting a dental care provider we would not assess Regulation 14: Meeting nutrition and hydration needs, as they would not apply to these types of regulated activity.

Terminology

The regulations refer to 'the service user' or 'relevant person' Where we quote a regulation directly, we use the term 'service user', but elsewhere in the guidance, we use the phrase 'people who use services' or 'people', as our engagement work has shown that this is the term people prefer.

The regulations lay down fundamental standards that registered persons must meet, that is, registered providers and registered managers. This guidance is called 'Guidance for providers' and we use that terminology throughout, but it applies equally to registered managers.