Monitor to license independent providers

Monitor will regulate independent providers of NHS-funded services, including charities, for the first time through the expansion of its provider licence regime from April 2014.

The health sector regulator, which already licenses NHS foundation trusts, is now accepting applications from the independent sector, further details on which can be found at www.monitor.gov.uk/regulating-health-care-providers-commissioners/licensing-providers.

Independent providers deliver about £8.5billionn of NHS-funded services, according to a recent estimate by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Nuffield Trust.

The licence, which Monitor will use to protect essential services, is the starting point for its regulation of independent providers.

Although the licence will not cover quality of care, which continues to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission, Monitor believes it can be used to make sure that patients continue to receive the essential services they need and that providers are paid a fair price for those services.

Independent providers of NHS-funded services, including charities and hospices, need to check if they need a licence and, if required, hold one from 1 April 2014.

The licence requires the provider to be led by fit and proper persons and registered with the Care Quality Commission. From April 2014, independent providers needing a licence and registration with the Care Quality Commission can get both through a joint process. 

Commissioners must decide which local services are essential so that Monitor can help secure them for patients if an independent provider gets into financial difficulty.

As part of its licensing regime Monitor will require independent organisations to submit financial information.

As part of its preparations, the regulator has launched a consultation, which closes on Thursday 6 February, on how it should assess financial risk at independent organisations that provide essential NHS-funded services.

For further information, including how to respond to the consultation, visit www.monitor.gov.uk/home/news-events-publications/consultations-3.

Following this consultation, Monitor will publish an update to its Risk Assessment Framework, which sets out its approach to assessing the financial stability of independent sector providers of essential services.