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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. This includes standards on the provision of information.

Providers must show they are meeting essential standards as part of a new registration system which focusses on people rather than policies, on outcomes rather than systems.

The essential standards relate to important aspects of care such as involvement and information for people, personalised care and treatment, safety and safeguarding.  Subject to legislation, the new registration system comes into force for NHS trusts on 1 April 2010 and for adult social care and independent healthcare providers on 1 October 2010. CQC will continuously monitor compliance with essential standards as part of a more dynamic, responsive, robust system of regulation accompanied by new enforcement powers.

CQC's guidance is focussed on outcomes - the experiences people have as a result of the care they receive - rather than on systems and processes. It was widely consulted on earlier this year and places the views and experiences of people at the centre of the regulatory system.

http://tinyurl.com/yacdaw4