WHAT ARE CARE QUALITY AUDITS AND HOW CAN THEY HELP YOUR CARE BUSINESS?

MNS Consul Limited – CQC Audits for Social Care and Residential Care Homes

Quality audits within care homes, domiciliary care, and supported living services stand as pivotal processes to ensure strict adherence to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

A CQC compliance audit entails aligning with legal obligations, regulations, values, and ethical standards. Care providers must establish robust governance, incorporating auditing systems to consistently elevate their operational standards.

Internal audits act as a lens into a service’s culture, policies, and operational workflows. They aid in evaluating internal controls, operational efficiency, risk mitigation and adherence to regulations.

Managers undertake internal audits for several reasons, including:

• Ensuring compliance with CQC Quality Statements, Health and Safety protocols, and local authority contract standards.

• Ensuring the smooth operation of the quality management system.

• Identifying areas for improvement.

• Offering constructive feedback to staff and management team.

Within an internal audit, potential risks may encompass reputation, operational issues, compliance challenges, strategic concerns, legal matters, and IT risks. Therefore, Care Auditors or Care Consultants who conduct audits adhere to fundamental principles such as ethical conduct, trust, integrity, confidentiality, and discretion. These principles serve as the bedrock for making audits effective tools in supporting management policies.

A Post-audit Plan is Paramount

Upon the completion of your care audit, it becomes imperative not only to tackle identified issues and rectify poor practices but also to leverage existing strengths for further enhancement.

From a regulatory standpoint, merely documenting issues in an audit is insufficient. The ability to provide tangible evidence of addressing these concerns is crucial. Failure to demonstrate effective resolution can lead to a substandard CQC status or, worse yet, impact the “Well Led” category.

Demonstrable use of audit-derived insights to enhance the service is paramount. A practical approach involves adopting the PLAN-DO-REVIEW model, an integral part of the KOLB learning cycle.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:

1. Identification of Issues: The audit reveals areas that require attention.

2. Planning Phase: Strategise on how to address the identified issues.

3. Implementation: Communicate the plan to relevant stakeholders and initiate the necessary actions.

4. Review Stage: Regularly assess the progress of the implemented plan. If the objectives are met, fantastic. If not, conduct a thorough review, identifying what works, what doesn’t, and why. Review and update the plan accordingly.

5. Iterative Process: Implement the revised plan, review the outcomes, and continue this cycle until the issue is satisfactorily addressed to the registered manager’s standards, resulting in a lasting, positive change.

In Conclusion

Internal audits emerge as pivotal instruments in pinpointing and resolving issues before they escalate. They contribute to the evaluation and enhancement of risk management, control, and governance processes. A disciplined approach to audits underscores transparency, showcasing a solid grasp of regulatory compliance to CQC inspectors.

While compliance guarantees adherence to regulatory standards, internal audits transcend these, serving as a means to continually monitor and assess a service’s internal control for adequacy, efficiency, and the effective delivery of services.

MSN Consul’s Comprehensive Care Audit Solutions

Explore our Audit Services to seamlessly meet the stringent requirements of care quality regulatory bodies. We recognise the critical role evidence plays in ensuring excellence, particularly in staff rostering and staff training, including mandatory training.

Our suite of audit services is designed to guarantee accuracy and completeness in every aspect. We specialise in supporting various rostering software, such as Office Base, Staffplan, Ezitracker, CM2000, Caras, Ulysses People Planner, PCS, Emar, and Radar. This ensures that your staff is not only well-trained but also optimally rostered to meet regulatory standards.

Key Features of Our Audit Services:

• Software Expertise: Proficient in handling rostering software to streamline staff training and scheduling processes.

• Complete Audit Trail: We provide a meticulous CQC compliance audit trail of all activities, assuring you that every regulation and standard is meticulously met.

Choose our Care Audit Services for a robust solution that goes beyond meeting compliance requirements – it ensures a comprehensive, well-documented approach to staff management and training