Which Service Types Are Classed As Acute Services by the Care Quality Commission?

One of the first steps to complete when commencing down the path to registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), is to determine exactly which service-type your particular organisation falls within. Once you have determined your service-type you can then begin to gather all of the necessary evidence to allow you to demonstrate compliance with the CQC's essential standards

One of the possible service-types that your company or organisation could fall within is Acute Services. This heading encompasses a wide range of diverse and complex care provisions, however, in general they relate to those services that provide medical and/or surgical investigations, diagnosis and treatment for a physical illness, condition, injury or disease. Within this definition Acute Services can be delivered to the whole population thus including adults, children or indeed both.

The CQC's definition of acute services dictates that these healthcare provisions can see patients on an outpatient basis as well as take admissions of inpatients and day case patients. Additionally, these admissions can be made at short notice or in an emergency, rather than long term planned admissions. Acute Services may also provide services such as:

- Surgical operations
- Specialist medical treatments
- Emergency investigations or treatment
- Maternity and neonatal care
- Termination of pregnancy
- Complex dental procedures
- Liaison psychiatry

The range of healthcare provisions delivered and the numbers and types of clinicians employed within an Acute Service can be extensive, and this is often the necessary situation in order to ensure that the needs of all service users are met adequately and conveniently within one location. Service users of Acute Services are generally referred or admitted as a result of the actions of another medical professional or clinical practitioner, for example a GP referring a patient on for immediate specialist treatment.

Types of providers that are classed as Acute include:

- Acute NHS hospitals
- Acute independent hospitals
- NHS Community hospitals
- Independent Sector Treatment Centres
- Cosmetic surgery clinics
- Haemodialysis units
- Minor Injury units

This is just a small sample of some of the healthcare types that fit into the Acute Services (ACS) category but there are many other ways in which a service can be deemed to be delivering Acute Services. Once you have correctly identified your provision's service type, whether it be ACS or an alternative, you can then review the requirements placed upon you by the Care Quality Commission in relation to the evidence you must present to demonstrate compliance with the CQC's regulatory standards. As each CQC outcome has specific prompts relevant to each service type, you must ensure you get the correct categorisation for you service before you commence your preparation for registration.