The Care Quality Commission(CQC) regulates all fully managed live-in care agencies. “Introductory” live-in care agencies are not under the remit of the CQC, as they are not acting as a provider of care. They are therefore not subject to checks on the quality of service provided, the people who they introduce or even the business owners.
In summary, regulated care – takes the guesswork out of finding out the quality of the service you receive. Providers are inspected frequently, owners are checked to ensure they are fit to run such a service; all staff are vetted trained and insured. It is an on-going relationship with a regulated provider, if there are any issues with the care worker the provider is obliged to resolve them to the customer’s satisfaction. If the customer is not satisfied they can refer it to the regulator and/or use the services of the health and social care ombudsman. Regulated care providers are legally obliged to plan the customer’s care with them and review the care as it is delivered.