CQC – how we check you meet the standards

1. CQC – how we check you meet the standards

2. Our purpose and role Our purpose We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve Our role We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find, including performance ratings to help people choose care 2

3. Inspections – what to expect • Pilot inspections informed inspection approach • Three types of inspections • Scheduled – 48 hours notice • Responsive – un-announced • Themed – 48 hours notice

4. The focus of your inspection • The focus is on the experience of people when they receive care. • Our staff assess information about services to decide which standards to look at during an inspection. • Inspectors will spend time talking to patients and staff to check their assessment. 4

5. Before an inspection • An inspector will call 48 hours before a scheduled or themed inspection. • Responsive inspection, where we have concerns about a service or the care of patients, will be unannounced. • Notifications must be up to date – helps us to better understand the practice • Practice should have information available to help them demonstrate their compliance. 5

6. When we arrive • Show identification and ask to speak to the registered person or nominated individual. • State the type of inspection it is and the standards we will be inspecting. • Time is usually given for practices to organise themselves after we arrive. However, we may start straight away if we have specific concerns. 6

7. During the inspection • Who we will speak to • patients, carers and relatives - to help us understand people’s experiences. • members of staff at all levels - to ensure they understand their role in providing good outcomes for people. • We may look at ‘pathway tracking’ – where we follow a patient’s route through the service and get their views on it. • Minimal time spent viewing paperwork. 7

8. Accessing patient records • When inspections begin there are likely to be some instances when we will check patient records. For example: • Outcome 2: Consent – some GPs may need to obtain written consent from patients and we need to check if this is in place. • Outcome 21: Records – are the records accurate, fit for purpose, stored securely and remain confidential? • We can only look at records in relation to our assessments 8

9. The end of the inspection • We may ask for additional information to confirm what we found – usually within 48 hours. • The inspector normally gives feedback at the end of the visit. • A copy of the inspection report is sent within 10 working days of our visit. • Practices have the chance to send comments about factual accuracy. • A copy of the report is published on their provider profile on our website along with a summary of the findings. 9

10. Not meeting the essential standards • Compliance or Enforcement actions will be set. • Compliance actions – minor or moderate. They are often a precursor to enforcement action. • Enforcement actions – used where the breach is more serious, or where a compliance action has not worked. • These actions are used in a proportionate way, considering the effect on the public and those who use services • More details can be found in our Enforcement Policy – available on our website www.cqc.org.uk. 10

11. Our strategy for 2013 to 2016 We’re moving towards tackling the following five questions about services: • Are they safe? • Are they effective? • Are they caring? • Are they well led? • Are they responsive to people’s needs? 11

12. Next steps in our approach • Changes for 2013/14 set out in our Business Plan • We will deliver: • New fundamental standards • New hospital inspection methods • Hospital ratings • Begin to develop changes for other sectors • Continued involvement of staff, providers, stakeholders and public in the development of our work

13. For more information • Visit our website: www.cqc.org.uk • Telephone our National Customer Service Centre on: • 03000 616161 • Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk 13