Social work body faces criticism over handling of misconduct cases

The General Social Care Council’s (GSCC) handling of misconduct cases has been severely criticised in a damning Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) review.

The review, which was called for by the government after a backlog of cases at the GSCC was revealed during the summer, found that at its peak around 700 conduct cases were being delayed.

The CHRE review team found that some cases were not referred to the GSCC’s conduct committee for an interim suspension order to save money and that the organisation did not even have a fully functioning case management system.

The review team’s report concluded that: “The absence of an effective case management system makes it virtually impossible for managers to manage the caseload efficiently as they do not have reliable information and statistics.”

Woeful record-keeping and lack of training and guidance for staff were among other problems highlighted.

Among 20 recommendations for reform are the creation of an effective case management system  “as a matter of urgency” and to give greater weight to public protection when handling cases. The CHRE also called into question the splitting of the conduct team in two locations, Rugby and London, and said they should operate as a single team.

Rosie Varley, chair of the GSCC, said: “There is a lot of work still to do to get the conduct function onto a sustainable footing, but we now have greater clarity of focus and a platform to build from.”

She added that she has invited the CHRE review team back next year to review the GSCC’s progress on improving its misconduct procedures.

Shortly after the backlog was revealed GSCC chief executive Mike Wardle was suspended.