Care services star ratings now online

9:20am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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AN AT a glance guide to care services is now available online.

The quality ratings, ranging from 0 to 3 stars, are available from the services directory on the Commission for Social Care Inspection's (CSCI) website.

A three star rating means excellent, two stars is good, one star is adequate and zero stars means care is poor.

This system means people can easily tell the difference in quality between services when looking to purchase their own care.

CSCI hopes councils will also check the ratings of care providers before getting them in to run services.

The commission's chief inspector Paul Snell said: "The quality ratings, together with our more detailed inspection reports will give current and prospective users of care services and their families every opportunity to check up on the quality of care provided.

"People using CSCI's website now will find quality ratings showing for around 70 per cent of all registered providers.

"The rest will come on stream as they are next inspected.

"We expect over 90 per cent of all services to have a rating on our website within the next six months."