How the pandemic has changed the future of CQC Inspections

Better Data | Better Outcomes:

Earlier this year, we wrote about how How Covid-19 is accelerating the future of CQC Inspections. At the time, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had launched a consultation on proposals for more flexible and responsive regulation. The opening of the consultation read, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made health and social care services think differently and we are no exception.”

Source: Care Quality Commission
CQC launch proposals for more flexible and responsive regulation – we want to hear your views

Routine inspections of care homes ceased on 16th March 2020, as the first wave of Covid-19 began. In the months that followed, CQC’s focus moved to using remote methods to give assurance of safety and quality of care, with physical inspections only taking place in extreme circumstances. It introduced an Emergency Support Framework, which used enhanced intelligence gathering to help local CQC teams give targeted advice and support. Its interim guidance, released in September 2020, stated that its inspectors were ‘spending more time on virtual activity and less time on physical site visits. Our transitional regulatory approach may mean that we will request more information from providers in a digital format. This includes inspectors asking for access to digital care records when not on site.’

Source: Care Quality Commission
What good looks like for digital records in adult social care

On 27th May, CQC launched its new strategy. The session began with CQC Chief Executive Ian Trenholm speaking about the strategy being a team effort, powered by the voices of the public through responses to the consultation earlier in 2021 and in events during 2019.  He noted that the pandemic had shown how delivering care using digital solutions can work effectively when needed.

The strategy is built on 4 interlinked themes: People and Communities; Smarter Regulation; Safety through learning; and Accelerating Improvement. When speaking about Smarter Regulation, CQC said that although site visits will remain a key method, in the future other methods will also be used. Ratings will be more dynamic, with coordinated data sharing and constructive relationships with providers. A key phrase used was, 'Collect data once and use it many times'.

CQC’s Year 1 priority is to develop how risk is monitored, and test a new assessment framework. A new provider portal and mobile-friendly website will also be created.

This new approach will clearly put providers who are already using care management software systems in a strong position. They and their staff are already confident with using and sharing data electronically, so sending data to CQC, which one can only assume will be part of their proposal of “using a wider range of evidence and tools to make assessments, rather than the comprehensive on-site visit”, will be a simple process.

Source: Care Quality Commission
Consultation on changes for more flexible and responsive regulation

There are many care management systems currently available and in use. However, their capabilities and features vary widely, with some offering little more than care planning whilst others include staffing, finance, activities, and other modules. Many providers are using multiple bolt-on fragmented/single point solutions, re-entering data onto different packages, or keeping part manual paper based records. The potential issue here is of course human error on the data entry, and subsequently inaccurate information being supplied to CQC.