Welcome to episode 37 of Continuous Quality Compliance this is the last episode as I have recorded all the topics I think are relevant if you would like another topic covered which I have not then please email me [email protected] Today I am talking about the different online platforms which can make your life easier. For meetings there is zoom. Add Otter.AI https://otter.ai/ (https://otter.ai/) to that you can then download the audio and get the transcript all you need...

Welcome to episode 36 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about… planning your year so you are on track to comply with the standards. Planning is key to meet compliance otherwise you will do activities and not evidence or you will not do the right type of activity to meet compliance. I plan in December for the year ahead. It is strategy then I break it down into 90-day cycles. I look at what can be delegated . What you should be looking at is what audits need adding or...

Welcome to episode 35 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about Selfcare I bet your thinking what has Selfcare got to do with Continuous Quality Compliance. Selfcare is important because you will be less productive and effective if you are not feeling good. If you are tired because you never stop. Are you the person who does not take a lunch break then reach for the nearest sugary treat? Did you know that sugar is addictive. It provides Dopamine and when we get...

Welcome to episode 34 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about Report Writing Before you start writing consider.... WHO are you writing the careplan, treatment record for? WHY are you writing it? HOW do you record it? What is written needs to be factual and correct. It also needs to meet the needs of different stakeholders. Steer away from a tick box culture as this will not provide enough information . What you record can be broken into 4 areas; Times, places,...

Welcome to episode 33 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about… Data Protection What do we mean by Data Protection? The ICO The Information Commissioners Office describes it as; Data protection is about ensuring people can trust you to use their data fairly and responsibly. If you collect information about individuals for any reason other than your own personal, family or household purposes, you need to comply. The UK data protection regime is set out in the DPA 2018,...

Cybersecurity is important for every organisation. Staff need to be communicated on what cybersecurity is and the importance of it. Most cyber security is preventable as they are due to human error. Here is a stat for you Every 40 seconds a business falls victim to a ransomware attack, and rose to every 14 seconds by 2019. Cyber security is about assessing and resolving issues in your organisation that could compromise your ability to keep information, intellectual property and...

Infection control is important in all types of premises.  In a clinical setting even more so.   I work with home care agencies.  They should also look at infection control in their clients home for the benefit of the client but also for the safety of carers.   They may not be responsible for cleaning but they should still have a say if it affects the client. Especially if you are looking after someone with low immunity.   There are many resources for clinicians to follow. For those who are...

Welcome to episode 30 of Continuous Quality Compliance  Today  I am talking about…  Recruitment for Directors  CQC  are getting robust with their initial interviews and want to ensue that  the Directors you have in place are fit for purpose. They  have also asked for a Fir Director policy.  What I have done for clients is to take what Regulation 7 tells us plus what  Companies House recommend.  I work with a lot of New business owners so todays episode is for going to be talking about...

Welcome to episode 29 of Continuous Quality Compliance  Today  I am talking about…  Training and personal development CQC ask for a training matrix. They wan to see that you are covering mandatory training. However it is important o note that as part of Regulation 18 Staffing.  Staff skills and knowledge and development of staff appropriately.   To me training should be looked at outside the box. Don’t assume that all training has to be either class room based  or e learning. It should be a...

Welcome to episode 28 of Continuous Quality Compliance  Today  I am talking about Audit.  Audits is something the CQC look for in your organisation. Audits are important for any organisation to audit hat their processes are working.  Audit is a quality improvement process. The definition of  Audit  is measures current practice against a defined (desired) standard. It forms part of clinical governance, which aims to safeguard a high quality of clinical care for patients.  For Social care take...

Today I am talking about Evidence In order for the CQC to ascertain that you are following your Statement of Purpose and that you are meeting the standards you need to provide evidence. Many providers get confused about he level of evidence or how much is required. Evidence should be provided during the carrying out of the services so the forms you use should be created in a way that it provides the relevant information. What you want to do is be effective in gathering evidence. For...

The Key Lines of Enquiry are the 5 areas which a provider gets inspected on. These come out of the regulations. Being the KLOE they can be added to taken always moved around unlike the regulations. But it sis important to look at how your processes align with he Key Lines of Enquiry. There are 2 frameworks one for healthcare and one for social care. Develop you processes and see how they align with the regulations and Key Lines of Enquiry. The five areas which are looked at are...

It is important to have a business continuity plan because you do not want to think about the steps when you are in the middle of a major incident you want to have steps already set out. Overall episode topic or theme CIRCUMSTANCES A Business Continuity Plan will be activated in response to an incident causing significant disruption to normal service delivery/business, particularly the delivery of key/critical activities. Examples of circumstances triggering activation of a Plan include: • ...

Welcome to episode 24 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about you Business Plan. For a New registration you require a business plan with a 3 year cashflow forecast. It is required for all Providers now before it was just in the Social care sector . Now a business plan is asked for in both Healthcare and Social care. Why because CQC wan t to know you are serious about your business that you have thought it through. Personally I do prefer using Strategy on a Page...

Welcome to episode 23 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about Notifications There are certain events for which you have to notify CQC. If you do not notify CQC than it can be classed as breach. The Portal can be used for notifications. I recommend you have a deputy who also knows how to do notifications when the Registered Manager is away. You must notify CQC if the registered manager is going be away more than 28 days. Equally when they return you have to notify CQC...

Welcome to episode 22 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about The Statement of Purpose. Every provider has to complete a Statement of Purpose as part of their CQC application . Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation or a breach of part of the regulation. This means that CQC can move directly to prosecution without first serving a warning notice. Additionally, CQC may also take any other...

Welcome to episode 21 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about… Regulation 20 Duty of Candour The intention of this regulation is to ensure that providers are open and transparent with people who use services and other 'relevant persons' (people acting lawfully on their behalf) in general in relation to care and treatment. It also sets out some specific requirements that providers must follow when things go wrong with care and treatment, including informing people...

Welcome to episode 20 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about… Regulation 19 Fit and proper Person Employed. The intention of this regulation is to make sure that providers only employ 'fit and proper' staff who are able to provide care and treatment appropriate to their role and to enable them to provide the regulated activity. To meet this regulation, providers must operate robust recruitment procedures, including undertaking any relevant checks. They must have a...

Welcome to episode 19 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about Regulation 18: Staffing CQC cannot prosecute for this but they can take regulatory ac tion. To meet the regulation, providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times . .Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to...

Welcome to episode 18 of Continuous Quality Compliance. Today I am talking about Regulation 17 Governance CQC’s intention of this regulation is to make sure that providers have systems and processes that ensure that they are able to meet other requirements in this part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (Regulations 4 to 20A). To meet this regulation; providers must have effective governance, including assurance and auditing systems or...

The CQC look at this as part of the Responsive KLOE.  The intention of this regulation is to make sure that people can make a complaint about their care and treatment. To meet this regulation providers must have an effective and accessible system for identifying, receiving, handling, and responding to complaints from people using the service, people acting on their behalf or other stakeholders. All complaints must be investigated thoroughly and any necessary action taken where failures have...

CQC write in the regulation that ; The intention of this regulation is to make sure that the premises where care and treatment are delivered are clean, suitable for the intended purpose, maintained and where required, appropriately located, and that the equipment that is used to deliver care and treatment is clean, suitable for the intended purpose, maintained, stored securely and used properly. Providers retain legal responsibility under these regulations when they delegate responsibility...

Safeguarding is relevant to every business whether your in health or social care The term safeguarding is used to define actions taken to protect vulnerable groups from harm. This harm might come from adults or other children and, as someone working closely with vulnerable groups, it’s important you understand what safeguarding is and why it’s important. Part of the safeguarding process is identifying and protecting children suffering from, or likely to suffer from, significant harm.

The intention of this regulation is to make sure that people using the service are treated with respect and dignity at all times while they are receiving care and treatment. To meet this regulation, providers must make sure that they provide care and treatment in a way that ensures people’s dignity and treats them with respect at all times. This includes making sure that people have privacy when they need and want it, treating them as equals and providing any support they might need to be...