The CQC previously published its response to measures announced by the Secretary of State to address winter pressures in health and care services. This involves adjusting their regulatory activity until the end of March 2023.

• They aim to work with the Directors of Adult Social Services across England to identify care homes or homecare agencies across England where they could inspect to assess whether ratings can be updated. They aim to carry out around 300 of these inspections by the end of March 2023 where:
• Services are rated as requires improvement, but commissioning or inspection teams believe that rating no longer reflects the quality of the service
• Services are registered and active, but locations are ‘unrated’ as we have not yet inspected them, and the lack of regulatory history prevents commissioning them
• Providers have confirmed they have staffing resources available to meet the needs of additional people who may use the service
• Providers have confirmed they are prepared to accept funded placements.If you would like to stay one step ahead, our team of CQC compliance experts will carry out a thorough audit of the care service you provide to highlight any areas of concern.

  Once complete, a full report will be made available to you along with any recommendations to help pull that area back into compliance and best practice. Further support is always available if required.

  If you would like more information, please message me here or email [email protected]

  #quality #cqc #wearecarequality #audit #cqcinspection #compliance

With the new CQC Single Assessment framework due to take effect in 2023, we speak to many care providers who are feeling a sense of anxiety about how this will impact their current care quality and governance processes.

Here at The CIA Group, we are keeping a close eye on any updates provided by CQC and receiving regular feedback from clients who have been early adopters of the new framework.

Now is the best time to act, having a proactive approach to the impending changes will ensure your team feels confident and ready when the time comes.

What is changing?

CQC has confirmed that the quality ratings and five key questions will stay central to their approach. However, they are replacing the existing key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) and prompts with new ‘quality statements’.  The quality statements are called ‘we statements’ as they’re written from a provider’s perspective to support them to understand what is expected of them.

CQC has also created six categories for the data they gather to make their judgments more organised and consistent:

1. people’s experiences
2. feedback from staff and leaders
3. observations of care
4. feedback from partners
5. processes
6. outcomes of care.

The CQC aims to be more transparent about how it uses the information it has regarding care in a service or local region with providers and the general public. They will therefore specify the evidence they must always gather and review for each quality statement. Additionally, it will depend on the level of assessment. A new service registering for the first time, for instance, will have different evidence than a service that has been in operation for some time.

Here are a few steps your organisation can take to be prepared:

• Stay abreast with any CQC updates, sign up to the email newsletter and follow their social media pages. Also checking the CQC website for regular updates.
• Familiarise yourself and your team with the Quality Statements and the six Categories of Evidence.
• Cross-reference the evidence you currently collate with the new framework Categories of Evidence to identify any areas of improvement.
• Start now – getting into the swing of regularly collating the evidence and categorising this will ensure your team is doing this as part of their daily practice.
• Collate feedback at every opportunity from
  • People who use services and organisations who represent them or act on their behalf.
  • people who work in your service, including evidence from leaders and senior management.
  • people representing organisations that work together with your services such as commissioners, professional regulators, and accreditation bodies.
• Prepare for both Offsite and Onsite CQC Observations. Having an organised approach to evidence collation will make life easier when the CQC makes requests. 
• Remember, CQC will no longer use a service’s rating as the main driver when deciding when they next need to assess. The evidence they collect or information they receive at any time can trigger an assessment so being prepared at all times is key.

How we can help

Our CQC compliance experts will highlight any concerns before it’s too late.

Working with the latest information we are supporting clients by assessing current care quality status, the impact of the updates on business operations, and building specific consultation packages to ensure their teams are fully prepared.

Our Care Quality Audits are a thorough inspection of your care organisation that mimics CQC’s Key questions and inspection methodology.

The aim is to highlight any problems or concerns giving you the time to be proactive and stay in control. Of course, if a CQC inspector was to find them before you then it could have a negative effect on your overall rating – so let’s stay one step ahead!

Just like in a real inspection, our team of CQC compliance experts will carry out a thorough audit of the care service you provide. They’ll be asking those all-important questions; is the service safe, effective, caring, responsible, and well-led?

Once complete, a full report will be made available to you along with any recommendations to help pull that area back into compliance and best practice. Further support is always available if required.

Having a best practice in place now means a more successful and smooth transition when the framework launches.

If you would like any support or guidance please contact us, we are happy to help.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01723 256120

Here at CIA, we are always on the lookout for likeminded people and businesses who share our passion of outstanding care and compliance.

We are delighted to say we have recently teamed up with Birdie who offer a complete homecare software solution. Designed to give providers better visibility over their care and support older adults to live happily at home.

Together we have developed a new CQC eBook, which provides you with everything you need to know ahead of your next CQC inspection; from the latest strategy and guidance to an in-depth look at the KLOEs.

This eBook will walk you through everything you need to know to get prepared for a CQC inspection. Plus, as the CQC recently announced changes to how they’ll be regulating providers, we’ll outline the main changes and what they mean for your business.
‍

What you’ll learn

Download this eBook to discover everything you need to know ahead of your next CQC inspection; from the latest strategy and guidance to an in-depth look at the KLOEs.

CQC new strategy for 2021: explained

The CQC recently announced a new five-year strategy, starting in 2021. Find out what the changes are and what they mean for you.

How to score an Outstanding rating

Understand the CQC KLOEs in detail with tips and advice on what you need to do to score and Outstanding rating.

Key legislation, guidance, and breaches

Former CQC Inspector, Karen Ritson, shared her insights into common breaches to avoid and how to comply with legislation.

Who is this eBook for?

We’ve created this eBook with home care in mind. We’ve digested the latest information and applied it to home care practices, so you can transfer it to your own business seamlessly.

• Home Care Managers with an upcoming CQC inspection
• Home care staff who want to understand more about CQC inspections
• Home care business owners looking to improve their CQC rating

As always, if you’re interested in hearing how CIA’s mock inspection service could benefit your care organisation, simply get in touch. We love to chat to like-minded people who are passionate about care quality, so we look forward to hearing from you!

You can call 01723 256120. Or email [email protected]