We 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.

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.

There are three documents that comprise our guidance about compliance:

• A summary of the regulations, outcomes and steps in our Judgement framework


• Essential standards of quality and safety that makes clear the outcomes we expect people to experience if the provider is compliant with the regulations


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  The Judgement framework which our assessors and inspectors use to judge compliance with the regulations

  
  

We have also published a document summarising the consultation responses and how CQC responded to them.

• Visit the registration section to view these documents 

As NHS trusts are coming into the new registration system in April 2010, we have produced additional information and guidance relating to the NHS application process.

• Visit the registration section to read this additional information and guidance