News for the sector -2/11/26
The Autumn Budget confirmed the direction of travel for social care. It also left every current rule exactly where it was. Both facts matter for your planning.
If you run a care home, Wednesday 28 October was one of those days when a lot changed and nothing changed at once. The Budget confirmed the government's plan for a National Care Service in England, with personal care free at the point of use for older people. Accommodation and meals sit outside that offer, so the commercial question about the hotel side of your home is still very much alive.
What it means today: nothing operational
Current entitlements, charging rules, means-test thresholds and fee arrangements are unchanged. The money is meant to come from reforming the state pension triple lock: from 2030, pensions would rise by inflation or 2.5%, breaking the automatic link to average earnings. The detailed design, funding levels and transition arrangements have not been published, and Baroness Casey's Independent Commission on Adult Social Care now reports in 2027 rather than 2026.
What it means next: a different funding mix
The balance of self-funders and local authority-funded residents that many homes have built their business around is going to be re-engineered at some point in the next parliament. Three questions worth putting to your board: how much of your income depends on self-funders, what would free personal care do to your fee structures, and how quickly could you reshape your offer if the definition of personal care turns out to be narrow?
The safety alert to action this week
MHRA has issued a National Patient Safety Alert on patient hoists and slings of all types, after continuing deaths and serious harm from falls during transfers and repositioning. CQC promoted it in its 29 October provider bulletin. The recurring causes are mundane and fixable: incompatible hoist and sling combinations, damaged or badly fitted slings, slings laundered in ways the manufacturer never intended, and maintenance that quietly slipped.
Falls from hoists are one of the most reliable features of enforcement action, and of inadequate ratings for safe. A short audit covers most of the risk. Check every hoist and sling is a compatible pair. Check slings are undamaged and within their working life. Check your servicing and maintenance records. Check how slings are laundered. Then watch a transfer or two and confirm that practice matches training, agency and night staff included.
The five-minute briefing: fake inspectors
CQC has reported that a small number of providers have been contacted by people posing as its inspectors. Genuine inspectors carry a badge with a photograph on the front, a copy of CQC's warrant on the reverse, and the signature of the chief executive in post when the card was issued. If you are in any doubt, do not let them in. Call CQC enquiries on 03000 616161 and ask them to verify the person's details first, then add that check to your visitor procedure.
Three dates for the diary
9 November: CQC's National Customer Service Centre moves to core hours of 9am to 5pm as a pilot, with a two-hour closure on the last Thursday of each month for staff learning.
19 November, 1pm to 2:30pm: joint winter resilience webinar with UKHSA, DHSC, CQC and The Outstanding Society.
25 to 27 November: a 48-hour consultants' strike. Expect knock-on delays to hospital discharges and specialist advice.
The bottom line
This week's changes are mostly about reading them properly. The Budget is a planning signal, the hoist alert is a safety action, and the scam warning is a five-minute briefing for reception and duty managers. Do those three and you are ahead of most of the sector.