Linda Hutchinson, Director of Registration, Care Quality Commission

The landscape of health and adult social care regulation is changing. From April onwards, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will oversee a new system of registration that brings the NHS, independent healthcare and adult social care under a single set of essential standards of quality and safety for the first time.

Previously, different types of services were regulated under different acts, with different regulations and standards. The new registration system makes sure that essential standards of quality and safety apply across the care sector and that providers are building a firm foundation on which to deliver care. It means that all registered health and adult social care services must meet the same essential standards, and that they are protecting the safety and respecting the dignity and rights of people who use them.

We have published the 'Guidance about compliance: Essential standards of quality and safety', which is focused on outcomes – the experiences people have as a result of the care they receive. The guidance makes clear to providers what we expect people to experience if providers are compliant with the new regulations. It describes quality and safety from the perspective of people who use services and places them at the centre of the registration system.

We are making better use of, and are constantly updating, the information we have about providers. This information comes from a wide range of sources including: providers; people who use services; representative organisations; and other regulators.

We will continually monitor compliance so that we identify concerns quickly and work with providers to improve. We have a wider range of strong enforcement powers that allow us to take swift action where services are failing people.

The new registration system is being introduced gradually across all health and adult social care services, with NHS trusts first to enter registration in April. From October 2010, independent healthcare and adult social care providers will come into registration.

By April 2011, all independent ambulance providers and all primary dental care providers (NHS, private and mixed practice) will have to be registered, and from April 2012 primary medical care services – commissioned by primary care trusts, such as GP practices and out-of-hours services – will have to register.

The new regulatory system brings with it many changes, particularly for those services that will be coming into a formal regulatory regime for the first time. We are committed to communicating effectively with all providers, so they know what is happening and when, and what actions they need to take.

The new system will bring much needed parity across the sector. One act, one set of regulations, one set of essential standards, one set of enforcement powers and one registration process. Assessing health and social care providers against a single set of essential standards of quality and safety allows us to focus on what matters most to people at all points of care.

Registration represents a move towards a new, more dynamic, responsive system of regulation that places the views and experiences of people who use services at its centre, regardless of the type of care they receive and where they receive it.