Healthcare & Social Care
Hospitals, GP practices, care homes, health services and social care providers.
Business activities
This sector covers the following areas of business activity:
Key regulators
These regulatory bodies oversee compliance in this sector:
- GDC Statutory regulator for dentists, dental nurses, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians, and orthodontic therapists in the …
- GMC Statutory regulator for doctors in the UK. Maintains the medical register, sets standards for medical education and practice, and investigates …
- GOC Statutory regulator for optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians, and optical businesses in the UK. Registers individuals and businesses, sets standards, …
- GPhC Statutory regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy premises in Great Britain. Sets standards for pharmacy education, ethics, and practice. …
- HCPC Statutory regulator for 15 health and care professions including physiotherapists, paramedics, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians, biomedical scientists, and others. Maintains …
- HTA Statutory regulator for activities involving human tissue and organs. Licenses establishments that store and use human tissue for purposes including …
- NMC Statutory regulator for nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the UK. Maintains the professional register, sets education standards, and investigates …
Guided journeys
Step-by-step guides for businesses in this sector:
Meet environmental compliance requirements
Navigate your environmental obligations including waste duty of care, pollution prevention, packaging responsibilities, and energy reporting
Start journey →Start a healthcare business
Launch a healthcare or social care business with CQC registration
Start journey →Running a childcare setting
Ongoing compliance for childcare providers covering inspections, safeguarding, SEND, food safety, and staff management
Start journey →Run a healthcare business
Ongoing compliance for CQC-registered healthcare providers covering inspections, professional registration, safeguarding, clinical governance, medicines management, and staff obligations
Start journey →Healthcare compliance quick check
Quick compliance check for experienced healthcare providers. Covers CQC registration, professional registrations, DBS checks, medicines audit, controlled drugs register, IPC audit, fire risk assessment, DSPT submission, insurance, and policy reviews.
Start journey →Expanding your childcare business
Grow your childcare business through multi-site expansion, franchising, acquisitions, or achieving Outstanding Ofsted ratings
Start journey →Start a social care provider business
End-to-end learning path for starting a social care business. Covers which regulator applies, CQC registration, registered manager requirements, workforce qualifications (Care Certificate, SSSC, Social Care Wales), staffing levels, insurance, Care Act duties, and devolved nations.
Start journey →Respond to a medicines or controlled drugs incident
What to do when a medicines incident occurs: medication error, controlled drug discrepancy, or CD theft/loss. Covers securing the patient and evidence, internal reporting, statutory notifications to CQC, MHRA Yellow Card, police notification for CD theft, investigation, Accountable Officer responsibilities, and corrective actions.
Start journey →Start a childcare business
Launch a childcare business with Ofsted registration, safeguarding, and EYFS compliance
Start journey →Respond to a CQC investigation or enforcement action
What to do if your healthcare or social care service faces CQC enforcement action. Covers understanding the type and severity of action, immediate response steps, getting legal representation, developing an improvement plan, and the appeal process through the First-tier Tribunal.
Start journey →Starting a social care provider business
Step-by-step guide to starting a social care business — from choosing your regulator through workforce requirements to financial planning.
Start journey →RQIA registration quick check
Quick checklist for Northern Ireland care providers to check whether their service needs RQIA registration, fit person requirements, care standards, and what inspections involve.
Start journey →Wales care compliance quick check
Quick checklist for Wales care providers to verify CIW registration, Responsible Individual appointment, Social Care Wales workforce registration, Statement of Purpose, and Welsh language provision.
Start journey →Scotland care compliance quick check
Quick compliance check for Scotland care providers covering Care Inspectorate registration, SSSC workforce registration, Health and Social Care Standards, and PVG scheme requirements.
Start journey →Guidance for healthcare & social care
Sector-Specific
- Running clinical trials in the UK — How to get MHRA authorisation for clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs). Covers combined …
- Healthcare professional registration requirements — Registration requirements with GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC, and HCPC for healthcare employers and professionals.
- Healthcare premises and equipment requirements — CQC Regulation 15 premises and equipment requirements, radiation protection under IRR 2017, healthcare ventilation, medical …
- Healthcare regulation across the UK nations — Comparison reference for healthcare regulation in England (CQC), Scotland (HIS and Care Inspectorate), Wales (HIW …
- MHRA authorisation for medicines and medical devices — How to obtain MHRA authorisation for medicines and medical devices in the UK. Covers Marketing …
- Clinical governance and quality improvement — Clinical governance framework for healthcare providers covering patient safety culture, clinical audit, incident investigation, duty …
- Healthcare provider annual compliance checklist — Annual checklist of recurring compliance obligations for CQC-registered healthcare providers covering registration, workforce, clinical governance, …
- Register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) — Complete step-by-step guide to CQC registration for healthcare providers in England, including what activities require …
- Medicines and controlled drugs compliance — Legal requirements for handling, storing and administering medicines including controlled drugs in healthcare settings.
- Safeguarding and mental capacity in healthcare — Legal duties for safeguarding vulnerable adults and making decisions for people who lack mental capacity.
- Medical devices and equipment compliance — Regulatory requirements for medical devices including vigilance reporting and equipment maintenance.
- Infection prevention and control for healthcare providers — How to meet infection prevention and control (IPC) requirements under the Health and Social Care …
- Healthcare and social care regulation (CQC) — CQC registration requirements for health and social care providers in England, including detailed guidance on …
- NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit compliance — How to complete the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) annual self-assessment if you …
- Start a clinical laboratory service — How to set up and operate a clinical laboratory in the UK. Covers UKAS accreditation, …
- Social care registration and regulators — Guide to registering as a social care provider across all four UK nations. Covers CQC …
- Data protection for healthcare providers — How healthcare providers must handle patient data under UK GDPR, including special category health data …
- MHRA licensing for medicines and medical devices — MHRA licensing requirements for manufacturing, distributing, and importing medicines and medical devices in the UK.
- AI medical device compliance — MHRA requirements for AI as a Medical Device (AIaMD) and Software as a Medical Device …
- Medical device compliance checklist — Verification checklist for medical device manufacturers and UK Responsible Persons. Covers device classification, conformity assessment, …
- Post-market surveillance for medical devices — How to establish and maintain a post-market surveillance system for medical devices on the GB …
- Report a medical device safety incident to MHRA — Step-by-step guide to reporting serious medical device incidents to MHRA via the MORE portal. Covers …
- Social care workforce qualifications and staffing — Workforce requirements for social care providers across the UK. Covers the Care Certificate and qualifications …
- Social care business planning and insurance — Business planning essentials for social care providers. Covers insurance requirements, Care Act 2014 obligations in …
- Placing medical devices on the Northern Ireland market — How to comply with the Northern Ireland medical device regime under the Windsor Framework. Covers …
- Software and AI as medical devices (SaMD/AIaMD) — How MHRA regulates software and AI-powered medical devices. Covers the SaMD definition and boundary guidance, …
- Classify your medical device for the GB market — How to classify your medical device under the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002. Covers Class …
- UKCA and CE marking for medical devices — How to choose between UKCA and CE marking for your medical device on the GB …
- Choosing a UK Approved Body for medical devices — How to select and engage a UK Approved Body for conformity assessment of your medical …
- Register a health or social care service with RQIA — Step-by-step guide to registering a health or social care service with the Regulation and Quality …
- Understanding RQIA: healthcare and social care regulation in Northern Ireland — How healthcare and social care regulation works in Northern Ireland under the Regulation and Quality …
- Meet RQIA Minimum Care Standards — How to meet the Minimum Care Standards that RQIA uses to assess your health or …
- Prepare for an RQIA inspection — Inspection readiness checklist for RQIA-registered services in Northern Ireland. Covers documentation, staffing records, care plans, …
- Respond to RQIA enforcement action — What to do if RQIA takes enforcement action against your health or social care service …
- Register with the Care Inspectorate Scotland — Step-by-step guide to registering a care service with the Care Inspectorate Scotland under the Public …
- Understanding the Care Inspectorate Scotland — Comprehensive explainer of how the Care Inspectorate Scotland operates, its regulatory model under the Public …
- Meet Scotland's Health and Social Care Standards — How to meet Scotland's Health and Social Care Standards (My support, my life) 2018, covering …
- Care Inspectorate Scotland inspection preparation checklist — Checklist for Care Inspectorate inspection readiness covering documentation, staff training records, care plans, Health and …
- SSSC workforce registration for care providers in Scotland — How to ensure your care staff register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), including …
- Responding to Care Inspectorate enforcement action in Scotland — What to do when the Care Inspectorate imposes conditions, issues improvement notices, or initiates cancellation …
- Operating care services across UK nations: cross-border registration and compliance — Comprehensive guide for care providers operating in more than one UK nation. Covers separate registration …
- Devolved care inspectorates: quick comparison reference — Quick-lookup reference comparing the three devolved care inspectorates: Care Inspectorate (Scotland), CIW (Wales), and RQIA …
- Register a care service with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) — Step-by-step guide to registering a regulated care service with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) under the …
- Understanding care regulation in Wales: CIW and RISCA 2016 — How Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) regulates care services under RISCA 2016, the Responsible Individual model, …
- Meet RISCA 2016 compliance requirements for care services in Wales — How to meet the ongoing compliance requirements under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care …
- CIW inspection preparation checklist — Verification checklist for CIW inspection readiness. Covers Statement of Purpose, Responsible Individual duties, staff qualifications …
- Register your care staff with Social Care Wales — How to ensure your care staff register with Social Care Wales, including mandatory registration categories, …
- Respond to CIW enforcement action in Wales — What to do when Care Inspectorate Wales imposes conditions, issues improvement notices or restriction notices, …
- Medical devices: placing on the GB market — How to comply with the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 when placing medical devices on …