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An inquest is an enquiry into the circumstances of a death where there is a suspicion that the death has resulted from anything other than natural causes. Where the deceased was in the care of the State at the time of their death, an Article 2 inquest must be held. Both types of inquest must answer the question ‘how’ someone died. For traditional inquests “how” someone died meant “by what means” the person came by their death. For an Article 2 inquest “how” also includes “in what circumstances”. An Article 2 inquest will cover more issues.

Providers of schools in the state and independent sectors in England and Wales whose school sites were provided by private donors pursuant to the provisions of the School Sites Act 1841 (the ‘1841 Act’) will welcome the recent decision of the Supreme Court in Rittson-Thomas and others v Oxfordshire County Council (‘OCC’) (Rittson-Thomas and others v Oxfordshire County Council [2021 UKSE 13) which reversed the Court of Appeal decision which preceded it.

Terence Channer, the family’s solicitor, said that the release of the footage piled additional heartache on Small’s family when they were looking to the police for support.

Guidance for Care Homes receiving COVID-19 patients as “designated settings” – how will CQC inspect your service?

OVERVIEW

• On 21 October 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a letter to local authorities stipulating a new requirement for COVID-19 patients being discharged into or back into a registered care home setting to be discharged into an appropriate designated setting (i.e. that has the policies, procedures, equipment and training in place to maintain infection control and support the care needs of residents) and be cared for there for the remainder of the required isolation period.

• The designation scheme applies to care homes that provide accommodation for people who need personal or nursing care, including registered residential care and nursing homes for older people, people with dementia, and people with learning disabilities, mental health and/or other disabilities and older people

• Designated settings are nominated by local authorities in consultation with care providers, and are inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure that they are appropriate to receive COVID-19 patients.

INTRODUCTION

As part of the Government’s Adult Social Care Winter Plan published on 18 September 2020, the DHSC has implemented a scheme in collaboration with CQC to provide dedicated care locations or ‘designated settings’ to allow the safe discharge of COVID-19 positive patients into or back into a registered care home setting for the remainder of their required isolation period. The scheme is intended to run over the winter period with the aim of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in care homes, enabling COVID-19 positive people to receive the care that they need and also to free up much needed hospital beds.