Quality Compliance Systems

In light of recent events at a care home in Dorset, Ed Watkinson, our Residential Care and Inspections Specialist, has provided this blog to offer guidance and support. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/etbrCn6P

🎃 Spooky Season is Almost Here! 👻 If you're planning Halloween activities in your care setting, especially for people living with dementia, it’s important to consider how these celebrations might affect them. 🧠 The Dementia Services Development Centre offers some great advice to ensure a safe and supportive environment. Here are 3 key tips: 🍂 Autumnal Decorations – Choose seasonal décor that aids orientation and has a calming effect. 🕯️ Create a Calm Environment – Limit exposure to overwhelming stimuli to avoid distress. 📅 Maintain Routine – Keep daily routines consistent to provide a sense of stability. For more helpful tips, see their post below 👇 🔶 And if you want to join a passionate community that wants to do all they can to support people living with dementia, you need to join our Dementia Champions Group. https://lnkd.in/e34_niPC

Oops, we did it again! 🎉 Since September, another 1,000 of you have joined our LinkedIn Dementia Champions Group! This group is the place for best practices, tips, and the latest news to support people living with dementia. A big thank you to everyone already in the group, and a warm welcome to all those about to join us! We’re thrilled to have you with us. Join our Dementia Champions Group here: 👉https://lnkd.in/e34_niPC

Have You Taken Our Compliance Health Check Yet? We’ve crunched the data from numerous social care providers who completed the check, and the results are in! 🚨 Did you know? 30% of providers don’t have a continuous improvement plan in place. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry—we have tips below to help you get started. Curious to see how your business stacks up? 👉 Take the Compliance Health Check today - just answer 10 quick questions. https://lnkd.in/gJMWeHuR

📣 Newsflash: CQC State of Care 2023/24 - what does this mean for adult social care? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eiSRY6AC

This week’s Did you know? comes from Lindsay Rees It's not enough to tick the box to confirm training has taken place, providers are being asked the ‘so what’ question by the regulator. 🤔 How do you know that people have understood training, and can they demonstrate that the training has positively affected the experience of people they support and care for?  ✅ With Learning pathways, you can assign staff to learn as individuals or in teams and use the reflective learning record to provide evidence that the knowledge gained helps provide safe and effective care. Learning Pathways can be found in QCS Compliance Centre, for more information visit: https://lnkd.in/embdrQjb

Quite a week for the CQC, its interim Chief Executive is leaving and a recent report found poor operational performance and a whole lot more. Our expert Ed Watkinson is hoping the wheels don't totally fall off the regulator. 🛣 The CQC's Risky Road Ahead The CQC is currently undergoing a significant review of its processes and tools for assessing providers. At the same time, they are under immense pressure to increase the number of inspections and tackle the substantial backlog of registrations waiting for review. A Faulty Vehicle 🚗 This situation is less than ideal for both the CQC and providers. While they are trying to update their systems, they are still relying heavily on methods that have been widely criticised, and are, in fact, using them even more frequently. To me, this feels like a very risky endeavour, and I liken it to driving a faulty car. Would you continue to use a car if you knew it had a high chance of breaking down? The logical step would be to take it to a mechanic - find out what’s wrong, how to fix it, how long the repair would take, and what it would cost. At best, you’d only take the car on short, essential trips, drive cautiously, avoid heavy traffic, and ensure you had roadside assistance in case things went wrong. The CQC is Speeding Ahead 🔧 The CQC seems to have taken the opposite approach. Even though their ‘car’ is unreliable - perhaps even dangerous - they’ve decided to hit the accelerator and are speeding towards the motorway, attempting to do repairs on the way. One ‘repair’ they are doing is developing a handbook, or manual, to be clearer about what they are trying to do, and how they will do it  – but again, this handbook is based on what is happening now, when the landscape may be very different in a few months' time and CQC will be back to the drawing board, and may have confused providers more. Focus on the Fundamentals 👀 The outcome of the CQC reviews have been released  and their ‘car’ has been  assessed as unroadworthy and  requiring  major repairs. As a provider during these uncertain times, it's wise to concentrate on your own operations and what you can control. Also, focus on constants: the Fundamental Standards, the need for robust evidence, and making sure you understand how the people who use your services view you. By doing this - by stepping away from the confusion surrounding the CQC - you'll be in a stronger position when the CQC is finally back on the road with a safe, efficient, and responsible vehicle.

🔍 Why the QCS IPC Annual Statement is Essential for Your Business As a health and social care provider, demonstrating compliance with infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, aligned with CQC standards, is vital. With our FREE IPC Annual Statement Template, you’ll be able to: ✔️ Review how you managed infection outbreaks ✔️ Summarise key themes from your infection control audits ✔️ Showcase how you identify and mitigate infection-related risks ✔️ Track staff infection control training records ✔️ Provide evidence of policy updates and reviews ✔️ Document action plans for improvement and lessons learned It's free. Download it now: https://lnkd.in/ecF3qaXV

Today is World Menopause Day, an important moment to raise awareness about the impact of menopause in the workplace. Check out this insightful podcast from Olivia Riley at AfterAthena, our HR experts and partners to understand the symptoms and how to support your employees. If you're a larger provider with more than 250 employees, you may soon be required to create menopause action plans. What can you do? Listen to the podcast for expert advice. 😊 Practical tips include: 🔷 Educate your workforce about menopause through regular training, fostering a culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their experiences. 🔷Update your policies to address menopause. Consider implementing a standalone menopause policy that outlines support services and highlights flexible working options. 🔷Empower your managers to confidently handle menopause-related queries. As an employer, it's crucial to act. Women represent a large proportion of the social care workforce, and menopausal women are the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. So please create an inclusive environment where they can openly discuss their experiences - it's so vital for workplace wellbeing and retention. 👇 Listen now

Tell 'em Steven Crouch. QCS Audit Centre now has over 1000 customers and we're celebrating. 🎉 ✅ Online audits, ✅Digital mock inspections ✅Surveys ✅No set up fees ✅Easily share audit results with regulators ✅ And more But, before you find out more, watch Steven's video. 😊 It's good. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e-8HDMsg And a HUGE thank you to everyone already using the Audit Centre, we know it's saving you a lot of time, so you can focus on delivering great care. P.S. Where should Steven shoot his next video? Comment below. We're thinking somewhere warm.... #DidYouKnow