New ratings for care services go live
07 May 2008
For the first time ever, the public can see at a glance whether
care services in their area are excellent, good, adequate or
poor.
New quality ratings, ranging from 0 – 3 stars, are available via
the services directory on our website:
It is the only official directory of registered care services in
England, updated weekly.
For the public, the new ratings give the clearest information
yet about the quality of care as judged by our inspectors. A three
star rating means ‘excellent’, two stars ‘good’, one star
‘adequate’ and zero stars ‘poor’. People can easily tell the
differences in quality between services when looking to purchase
their own care. We also expect local councils to check providers’
quality ratings before purchasing care on behalf of the people they
serve.
CSCI Chair Dame Denise Platt said:
“There is good news for the public and local councils who
purchase care services. Around 70% of all registered providers have
achieved an excellent 3 star or good 2 star rating.
“Only 3% of all 24,370 providers fall into the poor category.
The rest, 24% of all services, are adequate. The remaining 3% are
either new services that have not been given a rating yet, or
services that are subject to enforcement action by us.
“These quality ratings reward the best providers with the
recognition they deserve. They are also an incentive for the
poorest to improve, or risk losing business in a competitive
marketplace.”
CSCI Chief Inspector Paul Snell said:
“The quality ratings, together with our more detailed inspection
reports will give current and prospective users of care services
and their families every opportunity to check up on the quality of
care provided.
“People using CSCI’s website now will find quality ratings
showing for around 70% of all registered providers. The rest will
come on stream as they are next inspected. We expect over 90% of
all services to have a rating on our website within the next six
months.”