CQC Regulation 17: Everything You Need to Know

Define Governance in Health and Social Care

Governance in health and social care refers to the systems, processes and leadership structures that were put in place to ensure the effective management of a care service. It covers strategic decision-making, risk management and the establishment of an open culture that prioritises precision, responsibility, and continuous improvement.

This shows us that there is a requirement for high standards of company and business activities and that directors, senior managers and the organisation must have effective practices in place.

CQC Regulation 17: Good Governance

Regulation 17 is part of the ‘’Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.’’ This regulation intends to make sure that care providers have the correct systems and processes in place, that allow them to meet other requirements in this part of the Health and Social Care Act. To meet this regulation, care providers will need to have effective governance, which must include assurance and auditing systems or processes.

CQC Regulation 17 specifically addresses the need for good governance within health and social care providers. It outlines the expectations and requirements that services need to establish and maintain in order to support high-quality, person-centred care. The regulation acts as a safeguard that ensures governance structures are in place to oversee all aspects of service delivery. It is so important that the CQC must refuse registration if providers can’t satisfy them that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.

We have created a free, in-depth guide on CQC Regulation 17 Good Governance which contains even more information on how to demonstrate effective governance, important systems and processes, and how to monitor and drive improvement.

Key Components of CQC Regulation 17

Here is more information on the key components that make up CQC Regulation 17.

1.      Leadership and Culture

Good governance starts at the top. Leaders must create and maintain a culture that promotes openness, learning and innovation. Regulation 17 emphasises the importance of leadership in creating a supporting environment where staff feel valued and empowered to deliver the best possible care.

2.      Risk Management

Mitigating risks is integral to governance. Care providers are required to identify, assess and manage risks effectively. This will involve having an efficient process for incident reporting, learning from mistakes, and implementing the correct measures to improve the safety and wellbeing of service users.

3.      Engagement and Involvement

The CQC places a strong emphasis on involving service users, their families and the relevant staff in decision-making processes. Governance should include the necessary tools to obtain feedback e.g. conducting surveys and actively seeking views of people directly affected by the service provided.

4.      Quality Assurance

Regular self-assessment and external audits are crucial for maintaining and improving the quality of a care service. Providers need to have the correct mechanisms in place to monitor, evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of the care they deliver and to ensure they meet the right standards and expectations.

Social Care Governance in Action

Health and social care providers in England are subject to rigorous inspections by the CQC. During these inspections, their compliance will be assessed with Regulation 17. Inspectors tend to scrutinise governance structures, review policies and procedures and communicate with the staff and service users to evaluate the effectiveness of governance in practice.

The idea is to ensure that you continuously review your governance effectiveness, reflect on whether it is compliant with the regulations and whether it helps with your assurances that you are delivering safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services. You can do so by asking the following questions:

1. What are your organisational values? Do your staff teams know them and could staff and managers tell you about your values, how they relate to your service and how they use them in their everyday work?
2. In your organisation is it clear what is expected of managers and staff, do they know and understand their roles and what is expected of them e.g. job description objectives, professional conduct etc? What do you do when staff are not doing what you expect, what is the impact on people and how do you manage this?
3. Are your policies and procedures up to date, and being followed and are staff competent in their delivery? How do you know?
4. Are audit and quality assurance systems and processes effective in identifying good practices, poor practices, concerns, areas of required improvement and in putting in place actions to continuously improve the services you provide?
5. How are you going to improve areas of concern?
6. Do you follow a Plan, Do, Check and Action cycle to ensure continuous improvement and actions are working or need updating?
7. Can management and staff raise concerns and areas to be improved or introduce new ideas for the benefit of the service and people you care for?
8. Is training effective and are staff competent?
9. Are staff supervisions a priority and effective in supporting staff, identifying lack of competence and improving staff performance?
10. How do you learn about people’s experiences of your service, what do you do with what you learn, and how do you know the actions you take have made a difference?
11. Is there a clear vision of the organisation's role within the community and how your organisation serves the people you care for?

This is not a definitive list of questions, and you may be able to add more or consider more or different questions that are more specific to your service and regulated activity.

Please note that if a service is found to be non-compliant with Regulation 17, the result may result in enforcement action, which can affect the care provider’s rating and reputation.

Good Governance in Health and Social Care

Your care service should be built around your clients. The positive impact you have on the people you care for is exactly what the CQC will be looking for during their inspections. For a high CQC rating, you must continuously review your CQC governance effectiveness, reflect on your compliance with regulations and whether it’s helping you deliver a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led service.

As you would have learnt from this article and free guide, good governance isn’t just a regulatory requirement, it’s also a fundamental principle that underpins the delivery of quality health and social care services. As the sector continues to evolve, adherence to the principles of good governance remains a key to success. You can help support your care service by implementing award-winning Care Compliance software from The Access Group.

We at Access have over 30 years of experience working with care services across the UK. Whether your care service is a startup, part of a chain or has locations abroad, we know exactly what you need to succeed and thrive.

Our Care Compliance software has been designed to make your audits more systematic and effective, perform mock inspections aligned to the CQC’s new inspection framework and of course, ensure that your care service is compliant. As a result, you will be able to manage, track and improve care quality alongside your rating across every service.

Get in touch with one of our friendly members of the team to get some more information or to book a no-obligation care compliance demo. We also have an extremely useful array of helpful guides for you to browse, including our A-Z of Care Regulations and Compliance series.