Health & Social Care Regulation

We act for providers of health and social care services in England and Wales.

We provide timely and expert representation, advice and legal advocacy for:

• Independent hospitals
• Care homes
• Home care agencies

• Supported living
• Children’s homes
• GP practices
• Dental practices

We find solutions to for providers to all aspects of regulation, from registration to enforcement, by the:

• Care Quality Commission
• Care Inspectorate Wales
• Ofsted

Experience

We provide extensive experience in working with registered providers nationwide in relation to the following:

• Appealing to the First-Tier Tribunal (Care Standards) against Notices of Decision to cancel, vary, suspend or refuse registration
• Challenging inspection reports to secure amendments to the reports and changes to ratings
• Preparing persuasive evidence-based representations to Notices of Proposal to cancel, vary, suspend or refuse registration
• Challenging Warning Notices
• Preparing effective factual accuracy comments on draft inspection reports
• Requesting ratings reviews
• Making formal complaints
• Defending providers faced with criminal enforcement action, including persuading regulators to withdraw Fixed Penalty Notices
• Advising and supporting providers to register services and to secure amendments to conditions of registration

We also advise providers on:

• Local authority safeguarding matters
• Health and Safety enforcement
• Contract compliance with consumer law and contract disputes with local authorities
• Local authority adult safeguarding and LADO investigations, Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Serious Case Reviews
• Mental Capacity and Liberty Protection Safeguards
• Regulatory prosecutions including by CQC, Ofsted and the Health and Safety Executive
• Professional Disciplinary
• Specialist regulatory and commercial services to GP practices
• Buying or selling a care home
• New care home developments, including specialist construction law matters
• Care sector commercial property issues
• Employment issues in the social care and healthcare sectors
• General care home/homecare commercial matters and litigation

Approach

Our advice to clients is commercial and strategic and our wide range of contacts within the sector enables us to bring in expert care consultants or sector specialist media and PR experts to support our clients. Our experts have:

• won appeals at tribunal against CQC and Ofsted Notices of Decision;
• successfully challenged Notices of Proposal;
• persuaded regulators to withdraw Fixed Penalty Notices;
• successfully defended and mitigated Health and Safety Prosecutions; and
• guided provides through local authority safeguarding matters.

Advocacy at inquests and tribunals

Our Solicitor-Advocate (Civil) and health and social care expert, Errol Archer, has over 20 years’ experience and is authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to exercise ‘higher rights of audience’ in courts and tribunals. He has represented clients in hundreds of hearings at courts and tribunals, including at the First-Tier Tribunal (Care Standards) and at Coroners’ Court Inquests.