MedCo has today published an updated version of the Guidance on the MoJ Qualifying Criteria document and Technical Data aid.

Background

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued an updated version of the Qualifying Criteria (QC) for MROs. Key changes include:

  • Capacity requirements for T1 MROs reduced from 40,000 to 28,000 reports
  • Active experts requirement lowered from 225 to 175

MedCo has now reviewed and refreshed the supporting documentation. A number of links included within the documents have been updated, and certain elements removed or amended as they have become less relevant or outdated over time.

Clean and tracked versions of the Guidance document and Technical Data aid have been uploaded to the Document Library on the MedCo website under the MRO Audit filter.

The key changes to note are as follows:

  • Definition of MRO – Outsourcing

Section 1.1 e) (Page 8) – This section has been added to clarify the position regarding the outsourcing of work following a slight amendment to the QC.

 

  • Payment of Experts

Section 1.3 a) (Page 11) – Paragraph a) has been expanded to emphasise the importance of managing balances.

 

  • Geographical coverage 

Section 1.13 k) (page 34) – The number of experts required in Urban areas has been reduced from 3 to 2.

  • Table 2 Additional QC (pages 37-47)

The number of active medical experts quoted within this section has been reduced from 225 to 175 and capacity in relation to the number of reports is reduced from 40,000 to 28,000.

  • SLAs (Appendix 1 – from page 46):
    • SLA 0 Booking of first appointments – The standard has been amended to 5 business days and a definition of “client contact” has been added.
    • SLA 11 No. of audit recommendations – This SLA has been removed as it is monitored elsewhere.
    • SLA 12 No. of breaches – This SLA has been removed as it is monitored elsewhere.
  • Appendix 2: (page 50) Urban/Rural postcode areas – this has been updated

MRO Technical Data Aid

The MRO Technical Data Aid has been updated to reflect the changes to the QC and Guidance document.