Watching a video SCIE produced as part of research for HC-One, I was struck by this comment from Doreen, “It’s been wonderful, how do they manage to do it all?” Doreen is a resident at one of their homes and, in talking to us, she illustrated exactly why all of us who work in social care do what we do.
We all have friends and family who have a care or support need, and we know that one day we too may need support. At work we are often confronted with the reality of this and how even the smallest of things can make a very real difference to the quality of life and happiness of someone receiving a care and support service.
Providing care and support to those who need it is one of the most important and valuable things we can contribute. We all strive to do our best and want to improve the way we do this but it can be challenging at times and the pressures of getting everything done can make it tricky to reflect on the things which could make it better. This is especially true when money is so scarce in the sector.
CQC are aware of this and set out the key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) as a framework not only for inspection but also for improvement. An environment which is safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led should be one which provides a truly personalised service which maintains people’s choice and control over their lives and means that whatever the difficulties they encounter they can still enjoy the best possible quality of life. An aspiration we can all share for ourselves, our families and friends and for those we care for professionally.
Partnership for Improvement
Both SCIE and QCS share this aspiration for improvement and understand the pressures which can become a barrier to delivering high quality care. As we all know, compliance is not enough, we need to live and breathe the values that are essential to delivering outstanding care. This is why we have agreed to collaborate in supporting this journey for providers. Over the next year SCIE will be producing a range of new guides, tools and services for providers and we will also be writing a monthly blog here to share information about what works.
We will be working together to find ways to support improvement and to support you with the work that you do. We have a range of resources which are designed for those of you working in residential care settings and we’re always keen to hear your thoughts and feedback so do feel free to drop me an email and let me know what you think.
Doreen felt she had a high quality of life and good support. It is vital that every person we work with feels the same about their care.
