Quality Statements form the backbone of the Care Quality Commission’s new single assessment framework now due for launch next year which aims to regulate and inspect all services under the same regime.  The CQC state the new framework will ensure inspections are up to date in gathering as much data as they need about a service at any one time.

The new regime focusses on ensuring the processes the CQC are integrated and consistent between services and over time.  This should mean that a registered manager will recognise the processes from registration of a service, registration of a manager and inspection of a service as being structured in a similar way.

Quality Statements

The CQC are introducing quality statements:

Quality statements replace the KLoEs and are presented as “we statements” by the CQC.

look here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/how-we-will-regulate/single-assessment-framework

The quality statements are supposed to identify how people involved in the provision of care work together to provide a seamless service.  Notably, the key questions remain, and it is under those non famous, or infamous, headings that each of the quality statements sit:

Under the new framework, the CQC identify families, friends and unpaid carers when they refer to “people” within the quality statements.  This suggests a broader understanding of the impact of care not just on service users, but also those important to them.

It is worth having a look at a couple of the statements and considering how the key questions apply alongside the regulations which underpin both the key question and the particular quality statement.

Under the Key Question “Is the service Safe?” one area one would expect the CQC to ask questions about and expect services to adopt a position is safeguarding, the quality statement for which states:

“We work with people to understand what being safe means to them as well as with our partners on the best way to achieve this. We concentrate on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. We make sure we share concerns quickly and appropriately.”

The CQC identify how these relate to the regulations:
Regulation 11: Need for consent
Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment
Regulation 13: Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment
(Regulation 9: Person-centred care)
(Regulation 17: Good governance)
(Regulation 20: Duty of candour)

Under the Key Question “Is the service Caring?”  The CQC want to organizations to commit to promoting independence, choice and control with the quality statement:

“We promote people’s independence, so they know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.”

The CQC identify how these relate to the regulations:
Regulation 9: Person-centred care
Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment
(Regulation 10: Dignity and respect)

Under each key question there are several quality statements which will be used to assess services against.  It is worth registered managers ensuring that their teams are aware of these statements as well as starting to adopt them in the ways the service talks about the care it provides and how they do it.

There is nothing difficult about the statements, but unlike the KLoES they require that services take ownership of them as they are all “we” statements.  This suggests that services need to think more about embedding these statements in their culture and ways of working, which is a welcome idea for many.

In subsequent blogs we will look some more at the single assessment framework, including the evidence categories and what this might all mean for social care providers and how, for example by using digital care management software, https://www.careis.net/features/, manager might achieve this.