Health and Social Care Act 2008

A Bill to establish and make provision in connection with a Care Quality Commission; to make provision about health care (including provision about the National Health Service) and about social care; to make provision about reviews and investigations under the Mental Health Act 1983; to establish and make provision in connection with an Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator and make other provision about the regulation of the health care professions; to confer power to modify the regulation of social care workers; to amend the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984; to provide for the payment of a grant to women in connection with pregnancy; to amend the functions of the Health Protection Agency; and for connected purposes.

The Bill seeks to enhance professional regulation and create a new integrated regulator, the Care Quality Commission, for health and adult social care, with focus on providing assurance about the safety and quality of care for patients and service users.

Key areas

• Assures the safety and quality of care and creates a new regulator, the Care Quality Commission
• Equips the new regulator with tougher powers, backed by fines, to inspect, investigate and intervene where hospitals are failing to meet hygiene standards
• Strengthens clinical governance and reforms the system of professional regulation to ensure it earns and sustains the confidence of patients, professionals and Parliament
• Extends financial support to mothers-to-be from the 29th week of pregnancy
• Ensures all healthcare professional regulatory bodies use the civil, rather than criminal, standard of proof
• Creates an independent adjudicator to undertake independent and objective formal adjudication for the professional regulatory bodies
• Ensures that all healthcare organisations employing or contracting with doctors appoint a 'responsible officer' to work with the GMC to identify and handle cases of poor professional performance by doctors
• Updates the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 with the aim of providing a more effective and proportionate response to infectious disease.