Personal care delivered in someone's own home is a regulated activity across the UK, but each nation has its own regulator and its own public register:
- ✓England – the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Search any provider at cqc.org.uk.
- ✓Wales – Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).
- ✓Scotland – the Care Inspectorate.
- ✓Northern Ireland – the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).
A register entry tells you which activities a provider is registered for, which locations are covered, and whether an inspection has taken place. Not every registered service has been inspected, and the absence of a published rating is not the same as a poor one – it is always worth asking a provider directly where they stand and what they can evidence.
Our own CQC registration
Applying that to ourselves: Protocol Healthcare Services Ltd is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care in England. Our CQC provider ID is 1-6591402702 and our registered location is Protocol Healthcare Services Ltd Office, Highview House, 167 Station Road, Edgware HA8 7JU, location ID 1-7083880679, registered on 25 June 2019. You can check both entries yourself on the CQC public register: our provider page and our registered location.
CQC has not yet carried out an inspection of this service, so we do not hold a published rating. We would rather say that plainly than leave you to wonder: when a report and rating are issued, we will publish them here.
Nurses are regulated separately. Every registered nurse holds an NMC PIN and must revalidate every three years; you can check any nurse's registration on the NMC public register. We verify NMC registration before placement and re-check it throughout, as set out in our clinical standards above.
Who holds regulatory responsibility depends on how the care is arranged, and it is a fair question to ask any provider before you commit. If you are unsure which applies to your situation, ask us and we will explain it plainly rather than leave you guessing.
We are happy to walk you through our own registration position and evidence – get in touch and ask.
