If you have a health and social care provider, it is highly likely that you will be inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The purpose of CQC inspections is to ensure that service-users are cared for in an effective and dignified way, whilst also supporting those offering care.
During these visits, CQC inspectors ask five questions (Is your service Safe, Caring, Responsive, Effective and Well-Led?) that form the basis of your CQC rating.
Is your provider safe?
The safety of your service user should always be your top priority. CQC inspectors will want to know that you protect your service-users from abuse or any form of avoidable harm. They will therefore look at the cleanliness and hygiene of your provider and all the equipment. They will also enquire about how many trained staff members are on duty and their ability to cater to your service-users’ needs.
Is your provider effective?
Being an effective provider is of utmost importance within the health and social care sector. To prove that your support, care, and treatment have a good outcome, CQC inspectors will look at how service-users are treated.
For example, if you operate a care home, the CQC inspectors will look for factors such as:
• How the patients are fed.
• If family members are consulted on care decisions.
• If the staff know every patient’s health needs and personal preferences.
• If the staff has the knowledge and skills to offer these services.
Is your provider caring?
CQC inspectors expect private clinics and home care service providers to treat all their patients with compassion, dignity, kindness, and respect. During an inspection, the CQC inspectors will look into how you take care of your service users’ needs. These can be based on their differences, including disabilities, gender, age and religion.
Is your provider responsive to people’s needs?
Your services should be organised to ensure that all service user’s needs are met. This includes their physical, mental, and psychological needs.
CQC inspection reports are also made up of direct observation of people’s experience of the care being given, as well as conversations with caregiving teams and families of those living in a care environment. As this is the case, CQC inspectors may interview these service users to find out how well they are taken care of.
Is your provider well-led?
High quality leadership and governance are essential in the health and social care industry as it often translates into high quality care for service users. Therefore, it is essential for health and social care providers to have a Registered Manager who oversees all operations, which is something CQC inspectors will be looking for on their visits.
If you are unsure about the role of the Registered Manager within your provider, you can read the CQC guidelines to help Registered Managers and teams understand their responsibilities.
To ensure you are delivering high quality care, you must ensure that you are always prepared for your CQC inspection, particularly are they are unannounced. The best way to prepare for an actual CQC inspection is to organise a mock inspection with our team. Mock CQC inspections are a useful tool to help identify, analyse and record areas of good practices and non-complying practices within regulated care settings.
Get in touch with the Care 4 Quality. team to discuss your specific requirements and to arrange your mock CQC inspection.
