What is the CQC’s Single Assessment Framework?
As you should know by now the CQC is changing the way it’s going to inspect services and the criteria used. The process is the same for all services. So, if you manage a hospital, dentist surgery, care home or any other registered service what the regulator looks for, and how it gathers evidence, is going to be the broadly the same – hence the name – CQC is calling it the Single Assessment Framework.
How will the Single Assessment Framework differ from the current approach?
Some things are staying the same and the CQC has said that it is ‘evolving’ how it works and not ripping everything up and starting again, which is a relief. For example, services will still be rated as they are now, and the 5 key questions are remaining.
But, Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) are going and being replaced by Quality Statements, which are wider, cover more areas and phrased as what the provider must do. The CQC is also going to be less focused on onsite inspections and more based on the CQC view of risk than how long it has been since the last inspection.
The CQC is going to be relying a lot more on gathering information about services from people that use services, the services themselves, local authorities, health bodies, relatives and any other organisation or person with a view.
So, CQC may be visiting less but it doesn’t mean that it is not looking at you – and you need to be aware of this, be prepared for the changes and more than ever positively manage your relationship with the CQC.
QCS is with you every step of the way to smooth the ‘bumps in road’ and ensure you have the knowledge, tools and confidence to demonstrate to the CQC that your service is performing well.
When does the Single Assessment Framework start?
I can hear you say, ‘When’s this all happening?’ and that’s a good question! It was meant to be around now, but the latest from the CQC is that it will be ‘later in the year’ as they need more time to test processes and ensure that they are set up internally for the changes, the best guess is that it could be Autumn 2023. But QCS is not waiting until then to share tools, information and guidance on the new framework, because we believe that this is an opportunity for you to be ‘ahead of the game’ and to be fully prepared for when the changes do come in.
How QCS can help you get ready for the Single Assessment Framework
- We have already mapped all of our policies in the management system to the new quality statements, so you can evidence that you have all the policies that you need
- We have developed new surveys based on the quality statements and are also in the final stages of developing a new mock inspection process to ensure that you have the right evidence to satisfy the CQC
- We also have lots of relevant information about the CQC changes in our system and on our website, and this is growing all the time as we know more about what the CQC are planning
We’ll share with you how the new framework will work in practice and provide the latest updates as and when they are announced.
If you are a QCS customer, log in to the system and find more information about the changes under the Administration tab in the Resource Centre.
If you are not yet a customer call us on 0333 405 33 33 or click HERE to request a free trial.