Care inspections: hints and tips from the Citation experts

We know that ideally, every care provider would be getting a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rating in their Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections. But we also know that realistically, this can be difficult, especially with the implementation of the new single assessment framework, and the problems that has brought. Over at Citation, they have a bunch of proven tips to improve or enhance your care service’s rating so you can find some clarity amongst the chaos. You can find out more in their informative blog below.

*****************************

What’s involved in a CQC inspection?

Whether you’re a new business or you’ve already experienced a CQC inspection, a refresher is never a bad thing. CQC inspections are carried out to make sure care facilities are meeting high standards and that service users are receiving the best care and support they possibly can.

The CQC uses Quality Statements to assess how well you deliver high-quality, person-centred care. They’re the obligations that providers, commissioners and system leaders need to live up to, and show how services and providers need to work together to plan and deliver high quality care.

The CQC key questions

There are five key questions that the CQC uses to measure the overall rating of a service:

1. Is your care home safe?
2. Is your service effective?
3. Is your service caring?
4. Are you responsive?
5. Is your service well-led?

There’s quite a lot more to these key questions, and CQC inspections themselves, and you can find all the information you need on the CQC website.

Instant barriers to achieving a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rating

There are some situations where you’ll get a ‘requires improvement’ rating regardless of how good your care is. This will happen if you’re breaching any CQC regulations, like:

• You don’t have a registered manager in place
• You haven’t returned PIR information when requested
• Statutory notifications aren’t being submitted

So, how do you smash your inspections?

Let’s take a look at some of the areas to focus on so you can make sure you secure the best rating you can.

Focus on people

The people you care for are at the heart of your service – so it’s important to make sure you, your employees and managers are on the same page and service users and their relatives are involved in how their care is provided.

Value employees

Happy employees stay longer and work harder – your employees are the backbone of your business, so make sure you’re doing everything you can to enrich your relationship with them. Make sure they’re trained effectively, you’re supporting their wellbeing and listening to their views and concerns.

Strive to improve

There’s no such thing as perfect – and you can always make room for improvements that’ll benefit your employees, the people in your care and your business. Embed a strong framework of accountability and bring specialists on board to monitor continual improvement of your service.

Health & Safety

Health & Safety can be a minefield – but having all the right measures in place keeps you on the right side of the law, and keeps your employees, business and people safe. Make sure all your employees understand basic Health & Safety issues, regularly check and maintain all equipment, prevent infections and report and investigate accidents.

You can find more top tips in the full Citation guide to care inspections, packed full of insights from our care specialists. Or check out our guide to the top areas to look out for in your inspection – where we analysed 50 reports to identify exactly where care businesses are falling down on.

Getting ready for inspections with CQC Pro

The above is all important – but the CQC will want to see solid evidence that you’re meeting the highest standards when they come to visit, so getting organised before they come is key.

CQC Pro is our online tool designed to keep you prepared for whenever the CQC calls. It’s got prompts and actionable guidance, and gives you one place to securely store documents and regular reports. Built by inspectors and care specialists, it gives you back the power to create an outstanding care service.

• Easy-to-read rating system – a user-friendly system lets you immediately see how you’re performing against compliance goals
• Effortless audits – comprehensive checklists against each CQC standard show if the basics are in place
• Continual improvement – use the survey tool to gain insights from the people that matter
• Evidence on display – upload evidence to show how far you meet a standard
• Action plans – where you find gaps in your quality assurance, you can create a plan to put steps in place to work towards meeting the standard

Citation – by your side

As a WMCA partner, we’re a trusted provider in the industry – so you can have faith that we know how to help you manage the challenges unique to your care home setting.

If you’d like to chat about how Citation can help with your HR and Health & Safety, just give us a call on 0345 844 1111 or click here for your free guide. Don’t forget to quote ‘West Midlands Care Association’ to access preferential rates.