The Society and College of Radiographers has previously advised members working independently, in a partnership, joint venture, as a franchisor or franchisee or as a company director of the need to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) by 1st October 2010. Please note that the registration requirements do not apply to employees, only to the legal entity or organisation that is delivering services. The link to the CQC ‘Scope of Registration’ document is http://www.cqc.org.uk/publications.cfm?fde_id=13185
We have recently met with a representative of the CQC to try to gain a better understanding of the new regulation requirements. The CQC has helped us put together this advice note although it is vital that you refer to the CQC directly if you are at all uncertain as to whether your service needs to be registered with the CQC or not. This advice note must not be used in place of definitive guidance from the CQC itself.
The SoR’s understanding is that the following exemptions from registration apply:
i) You will not need to register if the sole or main purpose of the services you are providing is the provision of primary medical services made in pursuant of the NHS Act. This would include providing diagnostic, screening or treatment services as part of a General Practitioner’s service or under a primary medical contract with Primary Care Trusts or Strategic Health Authorities. In all cases if you are not a provider in your own right, but are either employed or paid by a provider to carry out work for their service, then you will not need to register. Please note that providers of primary medical care will need to register with the CQC from April 1st 2012, this includes GP practices. If you largely perform your work within this category but also see patients via other pathways you will need to register if you wish to continue with this aspect of your practice unless the sole or main purpose of the services you are providing is the provision of primary medical services under a contract made in pursuant of the NHS Act.
ii) You will not need to register if you use ‘consulting rooms’ rented in an independent hospital that is itself registered with the CQC. However, all aspects of your work must be carried out under the hospital’s management and policies. This is usually done by the independent hospital granting ‘practising privileges’. You are advised of the need to ensure that you have been granted ‘practising privileges’ and that this remains current.
If your work does not fall within one of the above categories you will most likely need to register. If you are in any doubt, the SoR advice is to contact the CQC as the onus is on the provider of services to register. There is, however, a very wide variety of ways in which services are delivered by providers; the CQC may not be able to advise in advance as to whether registration is required in every case and may request that the application form is completed so that a full assessment can then be made.
For those who are currently providing services that will be subject to CQC registration there are transitional arrangements for services considered to be ‘newly in scope’; these are less demanding in the transitional phase to the 1st October 2010 and have been designed to enable all ‘newly in scope’ services to be registered with the CQC by the 1st October 2010 and so able to continue providing services legally thereafter. The SoR view is that independent practitioners and companies that will need to register their services fall into the ‘newly in scope’ category and so the transitional arrangements apply. To ensure that providers benefit from the transitional arrangements applications must be completed and lodged with the CQC before 1st August 2010.
The application forms are available from http://www.cqc.org.uk/contactus.cfm Telephone 03000 616161. CQC Customer Services Team are available 8.30am to 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays.
A series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) will be posted on the SCoR website at:
http://doc-lib.sor.org/listtitles/title/cqc/
Please also note that CQC registration applies to England only. There are equivalent bodies to the CQC in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and members in the above categories are advised to make enquiries with them as to whether there are plans to register diagnostic, therapy or screening services as in England. The SoR’s understanding is that the CQC is the first health and social care services regulator to expand the scope of service provider regulation. Web links to the regulators in all four countries are below.
There may be cross border issues if practising in Scotland or Wales but also providing independent diagnostic, screening or therapy services in England, and advice should be sought from the CQC if you believe you fall into this category.
England: Care Quality Commission: http://www.cqc.org.uk/
Scotland: Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care: http://www.carecommission.com/
Wales: Health Inspectorate Wales: www.hiw.org.uk
Northern Ireland: Regulatory and Quality Improvement Authority: www.rqia.org.uk | 
