What is the care quality commission?
If you are looking for care services for the first time or are choosing a live-in care provider, it is important to get a true understanding as to the quality of care being offered. A useful place to start is on the CQC website researching and reading through providers inspection reports.
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England, with the objective of ensuring that people have access to safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led care services. They monitor, inspect and regulate these services to make sure that they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. They publish what they find and give each provider performance ratings. Services are either rated outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.
Whilst all care homes throughout the country are regulated and inspected by the CQC, it is worth noting that not all home care providers are. Introduction agencies, who simply introduce you to a carer who you then directly employ yourselves, are not required to be regulated or inspected by the CQC. This is because they do not provide an on-going or managed service after introducing you to your carer. You will be responsible for employing, supervising and managing the level of care that is provided to your loved ones, which comes with many responsibilities including arranging cover for holidays and absences and paying the carer – all of which can be burden on many families, and not least because you cannot be assured of the quality of care you are receiving.
What is a CQC regulated care provider?
The CQC is the regulatory body in England that inspects and monitors care providers across the UK. Care providers are inspected against 5 Key Lines of Enquiry or KLOEs as they are also known as, and outlined below.
CQC registered care providers, like The Good Care Group, offer a fully managed care service. ‘Fully managed’ means that comprehensive assessments must take place to ensure care can be delivered safely and in the best interest of clients, and full care plans must be developed and regularly reviewed. Also any incidents, queries and complaints must be dealt with efficiently and legally all carers must be thoroughly vetted and trained in line with CQC standards.
Carers working for a CQC registered care provider are employed directly by the company, meaning families are not responsible for the employment of a carer and all that entails, for example sickness cover, holiday pay etc.
A CQC registered provider also legally has to have a Registered Manager in place to oversee all of the care that is delivered. In line with regulations, a Registered Manager must be fit to take on the role and have relevant health and care experience.
CQC vs Introductory Agency, which option is best for me?
There are two different types of live-in care provider. A care providers agency will simply source a qualified carer for you to employ, an approach which can reduce cost, but carries its own set of responsibilities. The introductory agency will not manage the carers pay, holiday and sick cover.
Fully managed providers employ full-time staff, train them well and select a carer that suits you. Many consider this a simpler solution and enjoy the extra peace of mind it brings.
The CQC use five key questions of care providers. These are referred to as Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs):
- Are they safe? – You are protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
- Are they effective? – Your care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes, helps you to maintain quality of life and is based on the best available evidence.
- Are they caring? – Staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Are they responsive to people’s needs? – Services are organised so that they meet your needs.
- Are they well led? – Leadership, management and governance of the organisation should all make sure it is providing high-quality care that is based around your individual needs, encourages learning and innovation, and that it promotes an open and fair culture.
These KLOEs are used as part of the inspection process. All care services registered with the CQC are inspected every two years.
What to do if you are worried about care quality
If you, or a loved one, experiences poor care you can do the following:
- Raise your concerns with the service, including making a formal complaint
- Tell the Care Quality Commission about the matter
What are the benefits of a regulated CQC live-in service?
Peace of mind and reassurance
As our live-in care service is independently inspected by the CQC, it gives peace of mind about the quality of the service we provide to our clients and families. It ensures we are transparent and that there are measures in place to monitor and continually improve everything we do – this gives you peace of mind and reassurance when you need it most.
As a regulated live-in care provider we have to meet the standards required by the CQC and the Care Inspectorate to maintain our registration as a service provider – our ‘Outstanding’ rating in all five areas in England and our ‘Excellence’ in Scotland assures you we are exceeding standards in the quality of care we provide.
A rigorous and robust recruitment process
All of our professional carers go through a rigorous recruitment process, including checking and vetting of all qualifications, references and ensuring a fully enhanced DBS check (PVG check in Scotland) to ensure we comply with regulations. We go beyond what is required and carers are recruited according to their values and their ability to providing a high quality live-in care service.
Market leading training and professional development
We work with experts in the field of social and clinical care to develop a training programme for our care teams that exceeds industry requirements, and includes specialist modules in areas like dementia care and nurse-led care. All professional carers are required to complete this training prior to being placed with a client to ensure they have the skills and expertise to deliver the high quality care we expect. It doesn’t stop there. Our carers have a professional development plan so they can continually learn and develop new skills to continually improve the care we provide.
Unrivalled care and support
As a fully managed service provider, our dedicated care managers and regional managers provide unrivalled supervision, observations, training and appraisals of our care teams to monitor the care provided and help carers in their roles. Our managers have the smallest portfolios in the market to ensure the very best support is provided. They are on hand not just to support our carers but to ensure you and your family get all you need, including regularly reviewing care plans, organising for other services and equipment with other healthcare professionals and providing practical and emotional support to you and your family.
Talk to our expert team about CQC live-in care
Our friendly team will help you to better understand your options and provide you with information to make an informed decision about live-in care. Call us today.