More than 200 social care service providers have finally been licensed and regularised by an authority set up two years ago. 

According to the Social Care Standards Authority’s first annual report, launched on Monday, 219 licenses were issued in 2019. 

The largest number of licenses – 40 – were issued for residential services for older people, followed by community and support services for families.

Photo: Social Care Standards Authority report

Speaking during a live stream on Facebook, the authority’s CEO Matthew Vella said that up until two years ago, social care service providers did not need a license to operate in Malta. 

The SCSA took over from the Department for Social Welfare Standards in May of 2018. It sets regulatory standards for different areas of social welfare services offered by public and private entities. It is also responsible for the regulation and licensing of all social welfare service providers.

990 visits carried out in one year

During its first full year of operation (2019), the authority reported that its inspectorate office conducted 990 visits, focusing on licensing social welfare services and investigating feedback. 

A total of 103 were unannounced inspections following up on feedback, or complaints, received by its quality assurance and communications office.

This included feedback from the public. Members of the public can send reports to the authority through email or by phone in strict confidentiality. 

The annual report does not list what action was taken following such investigations, however, it notes that “recommendations were issued to the relative service providers”. 

Photo: Social Care Standards Authority report

Throughout the same year, the authority published standards for the sectors of adoptions, substance abuse and other dependencies and disability.

This year will also see the launch of regulatory standards for alternative care, outreach and community services, and high dependency chronic care services for older people this year.

Public feedback will also be collected throughout 2020 about residential services for older people, generic residential services, domestic violence services, and other services for older people. 

Regulations for residential services for the elderly will eventually come into force this year. 

Addressing the launch, Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon said that the standards were not only regularising the sectors, but also raising awareness among the service users of their rights.

He said that initial plans to have two regulating authorities – one for elderly services, and another one for all other services, had been scrapped. 

It made more sense to have one umbrella authority to regulate all social care services, some of which were not regulated up until a few months ago, he said.

Read the report in the PDF below.