What-Franchise-Issue-20.1

M ost will have heard of the apology made to providers by Kate Terroni, interim CEO of the CQC. An apology asking for forgiveness for failing in the regulator’s strategy, published in 2021 with an admission that the plan has not been properly implemented. In it she states, “I know that the changes we’ve delivered so far are not what we promised. It’s made things more difficult than they should be.We’re not where we want to be, and we’re determined to put things right.” Whilst an intention to put things right offers much welcome reassurance to the social care sector, the shortfalls in the registration and inspection processes have led to mayhem to business owners and managers including the many home care franchises across the U.K. In real terms, the long delays relating to registering businesses have placed huge financial burden on new setups, who have often employed a registered manager and taken offices in order to satisfy regulatory requirements. For some, these delays have meant the previous wait time of twelve weeks for registration increasing to twenty-eight.With these added costs being unforeseen they will not have been allowed for in business planning meaning a requirement for additional funding. To intensify matters, the new application portal sustained technical hitches, meaning some applications were entirely lost. In terms of operations, care providers are required to make statutory notifications utilising a provider portal for matters such as safeguarding, the death of a client, serious incidents, or police involvement. Sadly, the launch of the new strategy brought about technical difficulties causing a failure for the portal and resulting in providers being unable to utilise the system. Sadly, these references are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of complications brought about by the implementation of the new regulatory system.With essential services such as inspections being delayed and advice lines being inconsistent, there is much work to be done. Sarah Sabater, CEO and founder of CareYourWay What is happening with the CQC delays in the care sector? “The long delays relating to registering businesses have placed huge financial burden on new setups” Experts from across the industry tackle the topics concerning you most Franchisees have been plagued by delays in the CQC registration process. Sarah Sabater , CEO and founder of CareYourWay, explains what's going on 45 WHAT-FRANCHISE.COM Ins ights