Adult Social Care Insights, Governance & Quality Improvement

This week’s Adult Social Care Briefing looks at the latest Skills for Care workforce findings, delegated healthcare activities, a National Patient Safety Alert on blood ketone testing, and recent CQC findings on staffing, leadership and assurance.

This week’s Adult Social Care Briefing covers new dementia research investment, Skills for Care workforce training, developments in AI regulation, telecare safety guidance and CQC inspection findings, with practical implications for adult social care providers.

This week’s Adult Social Care Briefing covers the government’s plans for a National Care Service, new adult social care workforce measures, DHSC guidance on digital care and AI, delayed national data releases, and new MHRA clinical safety advice.

Moving to digital care records can improve care planning, oversight and access to information, but technology won’t fix poor records or weak governance. Using real CQC findings, I look at what can go right, what can go wrong and what providers should check before and after go-live.

Issue 010 | 3 September 2026 A weekly briefing highlighting significant developments affecting leaders of adult social care services for older people in England, with a focus on what providers need to know and what they should be considering in practice. This Week’s Headline DBS Publishes New Eligibility Guidance for Adult Social Care Roles The Disclosure and Barring Service published new eligibility guidance on 1 September 2026, alongside an updated version of its guidance s

How does poor practice become “just how we do things here”? A look at how everyday pressures, shortcuts and workplace culture can gradually shape care, and why good governance needs to spot the patterns before they become the norm.

Saying sorry after something has gone wrong does not necessarily mean admitting fault. This article explores Duty of Candour, why apologies cause so much uncertainty, and how we can balance regulation, professional judgement and the very human need to acknowledge what someone has experienced.

A personal reflection on trust, culture and why the conversations that matter most often begin after the meeting has ended

Different providers. Different services. Different inspectors. Yet the same themes continue to appear. Why do medicines, care planning, oversight and record keeping remain recurring findings in Requires Improvement reports?

When something goes wrong, nobody asks to see the training matrix. They ask whether the person had the knowledge, skills and competence to provide safe care

As AI adoption accelerates across health and social care, organisations must balance innovation with governance, quality and accountability. A practical perspective on implementing technology that delivers meaningful impact.