While every single incident that happens in care does not to be reported to the CQC (Care Quality Commission), many providers are surprised to learn just how many do need to be, and the types of incidents that qualify for reporting.
All providers must send notifications directly to the CQC, excluding those that are local authorities, providers of primary medical services, or health service bodies. So if you operate a care home or domiciliary care business you must directly report incidents to CQC.
The reporting of incidents is covered by CQC Regulation 18: Notification of other incidents. CQC can prosecute for a breach of Regulation 18 or part of it.
This means CQC can move directly to prosecution without serving a notice first, although they may take other regulatory action first depending on the severity of the breach.
Therefore, it’s very important for care providers to know which incidents they have to report to CQC, the section below gives you the information you need.
If you are looking at home care software you will probably want to find some reassurance on what you will get back for the money you put in.
You’ve probably experienced that this information can be difficult to find, and while some home care software providers will promote an ROI calculator of their own, it’s rare they will tell you where the sums it is using have come from or the rationale behind them.
In this article we will look at real world measurements of ROI made by actual home care providers in the UK.
If you want to know how to open a care home in the UK, we have all of the information that you need to get started. With the right planning, knowledge and preparation, opening a care home can be a rewarding and fulfilling adventure. As the population ages and the demand for quality care increases, the care home sector is consistently growing. However, it’s important to understand that opening a care home is a significant responsibility that will require careful planning, adherence to regulations and a commitment to providing quality care.
The Access Group has been working closely with various care services for over 30 years. We have helped these businesses adapt to digital systems so they can save time, money and remain compliant while improving the lives of their staff and service users. Through this, we’ve seen lots of people start a care home business and have gained an understanding of what it takes to be successful.
To give you a better understanding of how to start a care home business in the UK, we have put together this complete guide which covers the key information on how to open a residential care home including software, certifications, qualifications, a care home business plan and more, so you can feel comfortable on your next business venture.
CQC Registration - Do You Need It?
Essentially, every provider of social care in England has to be registered with the CQC (Care Quality Commission) some niche activities are excluded from registration, for the full details see Schedule 1 of The Care Act 2014, under 'Regulated Activities'.
Anybody who provides a Regulated Activity without being registered is breaking the law. Courts can issue prison sentences depending on the severity of the offending. This is rare however, and hefty fines are more common, ranging from a few thousand pounds (as in this case) up to tends of thousands of pounds (as in this case). Therefore, if you want to provide a Regulated Activity, covering the overwhelming majority of care services, then you need to be CQC registered. So lets explain how you do that.
A care plan for dementia is essential when caring for someone with dementia. It ensures everyone involved in providing care has a clear understanding of that person’s needs, goals, preferences and challenges in order to support them in a way that is safe and improves their quality of life. Daily routines will benefit both you (the caregiver) and the people you’re caring for. A planned day will allow you to spend less time trying to figure out what to do and more time on fun activities that provide pleasure, meaning and enjoyment.
We at The Access Group have over 30 years of experience working with care services across the world. Our digital software has been designed to help improve the quality of care and simplify processes while saving you time and hassle. To help ensure you are giving the people in your care with dementia the best experience, we have put together this dementia care plan article so you can learn how to provide person-centred care.
Care home audits are part of the quality assurance and improvement cycle operated by all care providers. They involve a review of the efficiency and success of local and regulated safe systems of work and practice against the proven and agreed standards for high-quality care. Care home compliance audits include taking action to ensure practice aligns with these standards to improve experience, environment, outcomes, and quality of care for service users and their carers.
All care homes use care audits (also referred to as clinical audits) to conduct checks in different areas of care. These include internal quality audits (as well as observations of practice), infection control audits, health and safety standards, mealtime, and kitchen audits and much more. As well as highlighting the good, care audits will uncover the areas that need improvement so care services can get better.
We at The Access Group have worked closely with various care services for over 30 years to help them convert to a digital way of life, including using digital care home audit tools. If you want to better understand care home audits, their benefits and how to use them properly, we have put together this guide to help steer you in the right direction.
Caring for people with dementia isn’t easy. Whether it’s offering information, support and practical guidance to the person with dementia and their loved ones, or taking part in the relevant dementia training alongside maintaining and meeting the standards set by your care service, each day is different and every task comes with its own difficulties.
At The Access Group, we have been digitising various national and international businesses for over 30 years. Whether you run an independent care service or you work for a company that provides care across the country, no task is too big or too small and we have the tools to help you succeed at work.
While our main aim is to improve the lives of service providers and service users, we also want to help friends and family who may be struggling with the diagnosis of their loved ones. If you’re providing home care to dementia patients or they reside at your care service, here are some tips on how to provide care for people with dementia including 7 common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Individual Service Funds and Direct Payments have gained considerable attention in the last few years. But, what do each mean? How do they work? Does one work better than the other? Or do they work differently depending on the individual care need?
With the most recent Care Act publishing guidance on how best to use both it can be difficult deciding which is best for you and your local community.
Whether you are an individual with a disability, a family member, caregiver, or a professional in the social care sector, delivering person-centred care that is adaptable to every individual’s care needs is essential to help encourage independence, prolong future care needs, and build a support system which truly matches every care need across a local authority.
At The Access Group we know and understand the importance of co-production with a patient or individual and understand how it is crucial that they have a choice over their health and support plans.
This article will review what difference between Individual Service Funds and Direct Payments are, how they work, the pros and cons of each, as well as how best to overcome the barriers that may arise when you try to decide which personal budget is best for you.
What is a Provider Information Return (PIR)?
CQC PIR (Provider Information Return) forms are intrinsically linked to Key Lines of Enquiries (KLOEs) and are designed to assist inspectors to gather useful information about an adult social care provider before an inspection takes place.
Before we start exploring the CQC PIR, if you are not aware, the CQC has revamped and introduced fundamental changes to inspections of services across health and social care. As part of this they have replaced the Key Lines of Enquiry and made a host of other important changes you should be aware of.
Read our article on the new CQC Single Assessment Framework and for a more detailed look you should also download these free guides on the CQC's:
and
Despite these changes, the CQC's five key questions remain, and the content requested as part of a PIR includes key data, as well as some information in response to those five key questions around your service's:
- Safety
- Effectiveness
- Level of care
- Responsiveness
- Well-led approach
This pre-inspection questionnaire is sent to providers to help the Care Quality Commission (CQC) determine which areas the inspectors will focus on during their visit.
The health and social care sector is heavily regulated to protect people from the risk of harm from the delivery of, and to maintain and raise standards in health and social care.
Making sure statutory regulations offer the most effective and well-adjusted means of delivering a public protection function is at the core of any decision to regulate a profession.
There are several bodies that are responsible for regulating a variety of aspects within the health and social care sector. Many of whom have specific legislation and power over the HSE (Health and Safety Executive, Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety). This article will give you a more detailed overview of the UK’s regulators for health and social care and what they do.
