Experts by Experience
Getting Involved in Checking Services
'Acting Together' is the name the Care Quality Commission has given to involving people who use services in everything it does including 'Experts by Experience'
Choice Support led a consortium of smaller organisations, including Living Options, in a successful bid for the Acting together contract. Living Options is your South West support partner. The other partners are:
- John Hersov
- Voiceability
- Advocacy Alliance
- Skills for People
- Inclusion North
- Eve Hersov
Experts are people who have personal experience of using or caring for someone who use health, mental health and/or social care services. Experts by Experience can take part in inspections of services with an inspector, either on a visit to a service, on the telephone or at a group meeting. Experts are paid for the visits, or other work they do.
Experts by Experience receive training to help them carry out their paid role on reviews of services, and must all have a valid CRB check & ID Badge. We will organise this and the training with you.
For all of the other activities it is not necessary to be trained or have a CRB check, but it is helpful if people know what CQC do.
The consortium provide experts for the following groups:
- People with Learning Disabilities/Autism
- People with Physical and Sensory Impairments
- People with experience of Detention under the Mental Health Act
- People with Mental ill Health
About the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of healthcare and adult social care services in England. They check whether care services meet essential standards of quality and safety, and also protect the interests of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.
Which services do they check?
CQC check on these types of services:
- Providers of medical treatment to people of all ages, including treatment provided in hospitals by ambulance services and by mental health services.
- Providers of care homes for people over 18 who need help to maintain their independence and wellbeing. This includes nursing homes. Care homes can provide residential care for people with long or short-term health conditions, disabled people and people with learning disabilities, older people and people with drug or alcohol problems.
- Agencies that provide care, treatment and support to people over 18 living in their own homes to help them maintain their independence and wellbeing.
- Providers of services for people whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act
- CQC started to register and check on dental services (in the community) and independent ambulance services from April 2011. They will register and then check on GPs and other primary medical services un the community from April 2012. (Note: They have proposed a later start date for registration of GP services, which must be consulted on by the Department of Health and debated in Parliament)