How do you ensure decisions in your health and social care setting are safe and fit for purpose?
Two Types of DIY painting
There are two types of DIY painting in our house. I like to call it painting you are allowed to do, and painting no one else in the house knows anything about until you show them the finished wall.
Painting practitioner
Now I am a practitioner of the second type. I like to see a spot of wall and decide it needs to be painted immediately with a touch of something bright, right this minute, I can’t leave it a second more to what was on it before. I buy what I need and then home to precariously hang off of wardrobes and small ledges with no (as my husband calls it) protection on the floor or to other items whilst I splash about the paint.
The grand reveal
The unveiling is never really met with as much excitement as is due. My husband mutters “oh god’ with his hands on his hips and a displeased pained look on his face. He’s quick to point out the new splatter marks that have appeared on a number of surfaces (he’s actually also just reminded me of when I left a lap top open and dually painted directly above it…with a few consequences’.
Now, this story has an ending. A moral and will, I promise tie in with day to day work.
I really want to move
We/I have decided we really, really need to move. The estate agents have been contacted, the visit for photos arranged…. And I have just remembered that that glorious splash of Arsenic green paint was never finished.
A dash to the shops, to find the same paint, only to find it has risen to a ridiculous amount of money and I can only buy a larger pot. Two days slog painting and clearing and scraping off splatter.
Was it worth the impulse…the mad dash to make change????… hmmm I need to be careful in case my husband is listening…
But no it isn’t.
If I had thought about what I wanted to do, I would have realised
- I didn’t have the time to complete it
- I did not take the proper precautions to avoid further work to undo mistakes
- I didn’t think of cost increase after delays.
- I didn’t think about what the future may hold
You may be a new provider racing to get into the market, or making changes and plans to a service, but less haste more speed is undoubtedly true. As changes stretch across the CQC horizon in their bumper consultation, it would be wise to think about the impact and the changes that will be needed to systems and policies. It’s definitely not a case of don’t do it, but make sure
- You know what is ahead as far as CQC is concerned
- You have costed in delays and what problems may occur
- You have the time to do a good job – not just to realise your dream but to support the people that use your service with what they need
- Make sure you have a clear action plan with all of the issues and risks, and have the policies and procedures to support what you are doing
QCS spends valuable time providing provider centred phone help, blogs, articles and system help looking at regulation from all angles with a strong team of contributors and staff. We comb through what CQC may do, and implement the impact of confirmed change on our policies and procedures.
I notice a splat of green on the tiled floor…. He’s going to remind me of this I know it.
