With many providers having inspections in the new year, are you prepared?
CQC (Care Quality Commission) inspectors come to visit your business to make sure that the care service provided is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. As a care provider a CQC rating is critical to your reputation as it will be shown to everyone on the CQC’s website. When choosing a care provider the ratings are an easy and trustworthy source for comparison.
To be rated as “Good” or “Outstanding” you should always be prepared for inspections. Here are our tips how to be prepared all the time, information how inspections proceed, and finally information how we can help you.
Be prepared all the time
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Have all the information ready for an inspector. Policies, procedures, feedback, and past timesheets should be easily accessible for an inspector to make inspections quick and lean. Make sure all records are clearly defined and outlined.
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Manage your carers’ certifications. Keep a note of what certifications carers have, and consider making it part of their position to attain more certifications. Some certifications expire, and having a record of when these are expiring is important to inspections.
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Keep your staff happy and enjoying their job. Good staff are the most valuable aspect of a care business, as they are the ones that have every day interaction with clients. This is where a good manager can help make the lives of carers better; by keeping the communication flowing, and getting feedback on a regularly basis.
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Make sure that all equipment and technology are up to standard for a carer to do their job. Care plans should be easily accessible and up-to-date. Diary notes should be stored to inform other carers of care received that day. Technology is a big help.
Read more: https://nursebuddy.co/blog/preparing-inspections-home-care-domiciliary-care/
Inspections step by step
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Before the inspection takes place CQC reviews the information they have on your business and assess the risks. This includes things like your last inspection report, the notifications they have received from you, complaints and safeguarding alerts, contract monitoring reports, information from stakeholders and members of the public.
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When the inspectors arrive they will prove their identity and ask for the registered person, the nominated individual or the senior person in charge. They will tell you if the inspection they are about to carry out is scheduled, themed or responsive. If there are no specific concerns you will usually be given some time before the inspection starts.
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A variety of different methods are used to examine your service. There is not a standard set of methods. It can include interviews, observing care, calls to ask feedback from your clients and carers, comparing observations with care records and care plans, examining your procedures, and looking at individual care pathways.
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At the end of the visit you’ll be given feedback. The inspection team gives a summary of what has been found during the visit and publish the information on CQC website.
Read more: https://nursebuddy.co/blog/cqc-inspections-domiciliary-care/
How can Nursebuddy help you with the inspections?
The Nursebuddy app makes it easy to share and record required information, making sure everything is up to date, and reporting. Here are some examples of the features that can help you with your inspections:
Preparing for homecare inspections can help you achieve a better rating with your local authorities and lead to more clients, carers helping you grow your business.
"A recent CQC inspection was completed in a couple of hours through accessing the data online. Previously CQC inspection would have taken them 2-3 days to go through all the paperwork."
- Billy Chinaka, Managing Director of PearTree1 Ltd
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