Res Care Plus

Ex Inspector

After 25 years service with Nottingham City Council, almost 10 of which was involved in audit and residential care inspections, I jumped ship to start my own business.

The good part about the work with this Local Authority is that it follows closely the CQC inspection process. I helped to design the inspection matrix for residential care for both older people and learning disabilities. My inspection work also included both but my preference is with older people, and particularly those with dementia.

Looking at documentation covering training, supervisions, policies and procedures, building certificates, communication processes, meetings etc, along with observations on the day, I collated all evidence into a single score based report. As well as triggering reports to CQC and Safeguarding teams if needed, the score was used to set the quality based payments system.

With over 300 residential care homes to look at, covering everything from small privately owned homes through to those in larger multi home companies, I was perfectly placed to see a wide range of administrative systems. That means that I have a good idea of what works and what doesn't.... what's easy and what's hard... what makes inspections easier and what gives inspectors a hard time.

The best admin systems aren't rocket science, they aren't necessarily based on maths and numbers (as some commercial risk assessment systems propose), the best admin systems are simple. They are simple to be used by staff and simple to be appraised by inspectors.

I was and inspector and, in my mind, I still am. The difference is that now, instead of just reporting on quality, I can now get involved in actually making improvements.

I.T. specialist... but...

I have a strong interest in all things I.T. from complex spreadsheets through to web based information management systems and websites.

My initial steps after leaving the Local Authority was to increase my web based skills. That led to developing a web based IT system for managing training, supervisions and action plans, then using this to deliver more evidence for inspectors. I can offer this as a solution to you...

...but... here's a bit more free advice before you embark on buying such a system (either from me or anyone else)..

Not all managers, and more importantly, not all inspectors are computer literate! Work to their strengths not their weaknesses. Only consider an IT solution if it can be accessed by staff when needed (especially if this includes care plans), if it can be used by managers, and it is welcomed by inspectors.

Website designer

As well as being your 'Inspector in the team', I can design and host your website, including provision of email accounts. This can be part of or separate to any other agreement.

The good thing about having an Inspector building your website is that I can build in a wealth of features which tie in directly with the Inspection process.