What is CQC’s caring quality statement, and how should care providers evidence it? London-based care company Tiggo Care explains.
At Tiggo Care, like all care providers, we want to make sure that we’re providing the best care service possible for the people we support. We have a responsibility towards them, and they rely on us.
CQC’s quality statements remind us of the commitment that we have to our clients – as well as their families and our staff team.
The quality statements are summed up in five key words:
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive
- Well-led
We’re proud to say that we consider these five words the foundations of our care service.
However, we know that it’s not just important to provide a great service. We also need to show that we’re doing it.
Evidencing what we do is important. It holds us accountable, and shows that we’re following our own policies and procedures. If anyone has any queries about the care and support we provide, we should be able to answer them.
In this article, we’ll explain how we provide a caring service – and how we evidence that.
What is a caring service?
A caring service treats people with compassion and respect. People who receive care are treated as individuals, and empowered to make their own choices. Tiggo Care encourages them to be as independent as possible. They respond to their needs, and try to minimise any discomfort.
Being a caring service doesn’t just involve the people we support. We also care for our staff team, promoting their wellbeing and supporting them as they do an important and sometimes difficult job.
CQC’s caring quality statement is divided into a few subheadings. Here, we’ll explain each of them in more detail.
Kindness, compassion and dignity
We show kindness and empathy to the people we support, and respect their privacy and dignity. We want them to feel that they’re treated with respect and dignity. In addition, we also show these values when interacting with colleagues – and fellow professionals from other organisations.
Why is kindness, compassion and dignity important to us?
Treating people with kindness and compassion should be the cornerstone of all care organisations.
The people we support deserve to feel comfortable with their care team. We know that receiving personal care can sometimes feel embarrassing or awkward, especially if someone needs support with washing or toileting. However, our care workers are professionals, and strive to put our clients at ease.
Many carers have looked after family members or other loved ones in the past. We all try to look after our clients in the same way that we would want our own loved ones to be supported.
How do we evidence kindness, compassion and dignity?
The best evidence for how we treat our clients is feedback from them. We gather this evidence in quality assurance surveys, reviews, and our compliments, suggestions, concerns and complaints log.
But we know that we need to get feedback from others too, so we make sure that we seek comments from all members of the Tiggo Care family – including the people we support, their families, our staff team and other healthcare professionals.
Treating people as individuals
We treat the people we support as individuals. Their care is tailored to their own needs and preferences. We talk to them about their culture, beliefs and history to ensure that we’re supporting them in the best possible way.
We want our clients to know that we see them for who they are. They are all individuals with their own strengths, history and goals.
Why is treating people as individuals important to us?
We want to provide the right support for each person. This means tailoring care to their own needs, but also taking their wants into account.
It’s important to remember that the people we support are more than just their care needs. They are individuals with their own needs, preferences, and pasts.
For some of our clients, especially if they have difficulty communicating or remembering, we may not be able to hear about this in their own words. However, where possible, we work with their loved ones and other professionals involved in their care. This allows us to create a full profile of the person that they were – and still are.
How do we evidence treating people as individuals?
Everyone that we support has an individual care plan at Tiggo Care. We produce this care plan as a result of a needs assessment and conversations with the person – and their loved ones, if necessary. Individual care plans ensure that the support we provide for our clients is tailored to their needs and wants.
The needs assessment and care plan, along with a series of 12 risk assessments, form part of each client’s profile. Our detailed client profiles allow our care staff to get to know the people they’re supporting, and mean that our clients can feel heard.
In addition, we encourage our clients and their loved ones to give us feedback about how they are treated. This may be through surveys, reviews, or our compliments, suggestions, concerns and complaints log.
Independence, choice and control
We want the people we support to know their rights, and know that they can make their own choices about their lives. They are in control of the care and support they receive, and we want to support them in being as independent as possible.
Our clients are supported to manage their health and wellbeing, and are involved in care planning. If they aren’t able to be involved, or need additional support, their loved ones or professionals can help them make decisions.
The people we support should be allowed to make their own choices about all kinds of topics, including, but not limited to:
- Activities and hobbies
- Health and wellbeing
- Relationships, including romantic and sexual relationships
- Who is involved in their care
Why is independence, choice and control important to us?
As a home care provider, we know that there are times when people need support. But we also know that, as people age or experience complex health conditions, it can feel like they have very little control over their own health. We want to support our clients to have as much independence and control as possible. Everyone deserves the right to have choices about their own lives.
Encouraging our clients to be as independent as possible is good for them in the long run. It prevents them from losing vital skills, boosts their self-esteem, and helps keep minds and bodies active.
How do we evidence independence, choice and control?
The people we support are invited to give feedback through surveys, reviews, and our compliments, suggestions, concerns and complaints log. Their loved ones are also encouraged to leave feedback.
At Tiggo Care, each person we support has their own client profile. This includes their needs assessment and individual care plan. We work with our clients (and, if necessary, their loved ones) to produce this profile. Our individual care plans look at the needs of the person we support, but also their preferences, goals and preferred outcomes.
Our client profiles also include 12 risk assessments. These risk assessments allow the care team to manage risks, but also allow our clients to make their own decisions – for example, around topics such as smoking, refusing care, or managing their own medication.
Responding to people’s immediate needs
We listen to the people we support. We respond immediately to ensure that they have minimal discomfort or distress.
Why is responding to people’s immediate needs important to us?
Many people who receive personal care feel, at times, like they are not in control. Many of the people we support have complex health conditions, reduced mobility, or have difficulty managing their own needs. Some people we support may not be able to communicate their needs easily.
At Tiggo Care, we want our clients to be confident that we will support them. We know that no one deserves to be in discomfort or distress, and we will always do our best to help the people we support.
People’s needs can increase and decrease, depending on their health condition, treatment and other factors. Listening to our clients means that we can provide them with the care they need each day, rather than assuming we always know best.
How do we evidence responding to people’s immediate needs?
We encourage the people we support, their families and our staff team to give feedback about times when immediate care has been needed. This may come in the form of individual reviews or testimonials, surveys, and our compliments, suggestions, concerns and complaints log.
We also seek evidence and feedback from other healthcare professionals involved in our clients’ cases.
Workforce wellbeing and enablement
We care about our staff team and want them to live well. We offer them the support that they need to do a role that can be very challenging.
Why is workforce wellbeing and enablement important to us?
When we focus on the wellbeing of our care workers, we enable them to provide excellent, person-centred care. Our carers benefit, and so do the people we support.
However, workforce wellbeing is also important for our care workers themselves. Caring can be a challenging job, both physically and mentally. We want to avoid our colleagues burning out, getting injured, or leaving the profession because they aren’t supported.
We know that, in addition to the usual challenges carers face, our workforce have some additional pressures. As a London-based care company, our care assistants live in an area with a very high cost of living. If we want to continue employing dedicated, caring, empathetic staff, we need to have a competitive offer for them. This includes paying them the real London Living Wage, and having a range of staff benefits to set us apart from other care companies.
How do we evidence workforce wellbeing and enablement?
We regularly check in with our staff. We have monthly company all-hands meetings and weekly office team meetings.
At least once a quarter, each care worker has a supervision session. This allows senior members of staff to check how they are performing and feeling about their role.
We carry out a range of risk assessments, including lone worker assessments and staff health assessments. This ensures that we’re not putting our care workers at unnecessary risk.
We follow QCS staff management policies.
Our staff are encouraged to feed back their views. This may be through staff surveys, online reviews, or in person meetings. In addition, we also ask the people we support for their views – after all, they see our care workers regularly and are directly affected by the work they do.
Caring quality statements
Whether we provide a few hours of support or live-in care, we want to provide a caring service for the people we support and their families.
We evidence CQC’s caring quality statements in a variety of ways, including through surveys, complaints, suggestions and feedback from our clients, families, and staff team. Our care plans, risk assessments, and meeting minutes are also valuable ways of evidencing the service we provide.
Evidencing the quality statements is important to us. It holds us accountable, and helps us answer any questions that may come up. Whether it’s a CQC inspection, a service user querying an aspect of their care, or a colleague asking a question, our evidence should show exactly what we did in a particular situation.
