07.01.14
Private providers to be regulated by Monitor
Monitor is to start regulating independent providers of NHS-funded services, the watchdog has announced.
If independent providers are required to hold a licence, they must hold one from April 1, 2014. A licence requires providers to have good and fit leadership, and to be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Monitor will use the new licences to protect essential services and to ensure that providers are paid a fair price for these services.
It has launched a consultation on how it should assess the financial risk at independent organisations, and commissioners must decide which local services are essential, so these can be protected if an independent provider faces financial difficulty.
Jason Dorsett, director at Monitor, said: “The Southern Cross scandal brought home to people how much uncertainty about the financial future of the organisation had a negative impact on patients and their families.
“Our overriding duty is to protect patients, so we are not going to sit back and wait for financial failures at providers to disrupt essential services, we will actively monitor providers of these services, looking for financial problems and acting quickly to ensure those services continue.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]