5 Minutes with Martin Lowthian

1.Who are you and what do you do at Access Group? 

I am Martin Lowthian, Risk, Quality and Regulatory Specialist.  I lead on our Access Care Compliance solution, Policies and Procedures and work with colleagues across all areas of the team to understand what Care Providers need, how our solutions can help and to support effective adoption and sometimes optimising their use of our software when they have been using it sometime, so they get maximum benefit 

2.What's your background, and how did you end up specialising in care compliance? 

I have worked in the NHS for 14 years leading on Audit, Quality, Risk and Consultancy then 16 years in Social Care in roles overseeing Quality Assurance, Care and Risk plus worked as a consultant helping providers to embed efficient operating models to plan, deliver and evidence Good and Outstanding outcomes for the people they support.  During a consulting assignment I was asked to identify the best Digital Governance solution for Social Care and that led me to the role I now have at Access. 

3. What's changed most about the compliance landscape for care providers in recent years?  

The expectations of all stakeholders is increasing and this has increased the need for providers to have efficient solutions to evaluate risk, assurances and learning.  A consequence of this is also that the sector has seen more litigation and fines in the time I have been in Social Care. 

4. What does a care provider that is genuinely inspection-ready look like to you?  

Inspection ready to me is every day, rather than a one off.  Colleagues are confident in the way they plan, deliver and evidence care and keep people Safe in the first place, but support them to live every day the way they want to as far as is practicable.  Staff teams are competent and confident, empower the people they support to thrive, not just get through a set of daily activities.  Individuals should be just that, so their voices and choices are heard and enabled. 

5. What’s the biggest mistake you see providers making when it comes to compliance and governance?  

Providers do not consider "why" often enough, when they are doing things, which is where I start in any evaluation or definition of a business process or system.   

When you consider the "why" it ought to be rooted in legislation (for compliance), as that is what their business depends on - i.e. a certificate of registration.  Even Person Centred Care is rooted in the legislation, so be ready to evidence against it.  It is not your raison d'etre, to comply with the law, but it is necessary. My "why create person centred care plans is primarily to ensure the voice, choice and control of the person being supported are recorded, agreed and visible to those involved in their care, however, I am also aware of the regulations and how they define this, so when considering how and where we record this it needs to be accessible to the supported person, my care team and easily shared with an Inspector (also the Local Authority Quality Team, where applicable). 

"Why do we audit this monthly?" - when we could audit 3 or 6 monthly, is a big focus for me defining a quality system.  The effort to assure yourself should not be greater than the value it gives.  

6. What role can digital audit trails and reporting play during an inspection?  

Inspectors need to see evidence of effective oversight and governance, which is part of any provider's registration, so making this easy to evidence is crucial.  That was why the provider I worked with led me to find Access Care Compliance.

7. How can technology make compliance more proactive rather than reactive?  

Having the right Incident, Complaint, Surveys and Actions oversight means you can see trends declining early on and act faster, so action will be taken promptly to reduce risk and protect safety and outcomes more effectively and in a more timely way.

8. What's one thing you wish every registered manager understood about care compliance? 

I wish Registered Managers would use it to develop their team, by seeing it as a coaching and development tool to look for opportunities to continually innovate.