𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆

A run of five workshops last week, each in a different city with a different client group, but all with the focus of looking at regulation in terms of how to understand the new Single Assessment Framework and how to demonstrate outstanding care under the Well Led domain.

As I entered the venue – the very posh Reubens at the Palace hotel in central London, I was impressed by how natural the whole staff team were in making me feel special and welcome, without being overbearing or false. It was customer service at it’s finest. Therefore I thought the final theme for the mini blogs was very apt; person-centred care.

Kindness and respect mean different things to different people. Being person-centred means thinking about what makes each person unique, and doing everything you can to put their needs first. It is about ensuring that people’s preferences, needs and values guide clinical decisions, and providing care that is respectful of and responsive to them.

Regulation in healthcare has always appeared to me to be a very process driven function of what we do and not designed to really drive improvement in terms of patient outcome or experience. In 2013, the sector shaking Francis Report, amongst it’s many findings, stated there was a clear theme that we “did not put the patient at the centre of everything that was done”. Regulation since then has never fully addressed this.

The new single assessment framework from the CQC has rectified this with some of the new quality statements. Many of the impending new standards take the focus away from pure process and force us to look at how the care we deliver impacts on the experience of the individual – some of the new standards are detailed below:

“We support people to manage their health and wellbeing so they can maximise their independence, choice and control. We support them to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.”

“We treat people as individuals and make sure their care, support and treatment meets their needs and preferences. We take account of their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.”

“We understand the diverse health and care needs of people and our local communities, so care is joined-up, flexible and supports choice and continuity.”

With our regulatory framework now driving our governance requirements more towards person-centred outcomes, it offers providers from across all parts of our wider Health & Social Care sector the opportunity to really celebrate some of the excellent work they do, and always have done, but have never really been able to demonstrate properly against the more process driven framework.

At our workshops, we pick these new standards apart and, using the new evidence categories, look at how providers can use the new Single Assessment Framework to really drive outstanding care and evidence it to the greatest extent possible.