March is the time when many businesses set targets and budgets for the new financial year. Alongside all the usual factors, care providers will also have to consider the impact of a proposed CQC inspection strategy.
Consultation on the proposed new strategy ended 4th March. The 4 themes that were the basis of the consultation offer insight as to the potential focus of future CQC inspections.
It is unlikely that the final inspection regime will vary significantly from the consultation because it was drafted with the aim of increasing support to keep people safe. One theme to pay particular attention to is Safety Through Learning. Training and development is therefore recognised as the starting point to deliver a safe service. This is what the CQC has to say about it:
“We want all services to have stronger safety cultures. We’ll expect learning and improvement to be the primary response to all safety concerns in all types of service. When safety doesn’t improve, and services don’t learn lessons, we’ll take action to protect people.”
It is also worth noting that the CQC is aiming for smarter ‘data-driven’ inspections and data creation will become more significant. Increased use of data will allow inspections to be more targeted and improve the accuracy of ratings.
Time to Audit Training Needs and Records
It is not a great leap to come to the conclusion that comprehensive and up-to-date records of competency assessments and training and development will be essential (even more than they already are). Now could be a good time to audit what you do and develop an action plan for what needs to improve.
Other aspects of the CQC’s strategy will drive change throughout the care sector. We willl be keeping a close eye on what happens so we can update our customers and partners.
People and communities will be a key consideration. How will the desire to ensure that “regulation is driven by people’s experiences and what they expect and need from health and care services” translates into practice during inspections?
There is plenty of change coming that care providers will need to understand and factor-in to their planning. If you’d like to receive regular updates as the situation becomes clearer simply sign-up below.
For more information on the topic discussed in this article, contact us on 01823 332200.
