The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will usually provide two weeks notice in writing before an inspection takes place. You are asked for information about your service, which can include a statement of purpose and complaints log or serious incident/accident logs at this time – but it’s important to remember that they’ll also call ahead so you have enough prep time.

In order to be prepared for an inspection, there are a few key pieces of information you’ll need to have on hand. The CQC will want to see your:

• Service policies and procedures
• Person-centered care plans and risk assessments
• Staff rotas and training records
• Financial records and insurance documentation
• Health and safety policy
• Complaints procedure
• Serious incident/accident log

You may also be asked to provide copies of any important documents, such as your terms and conditions of service or your constitution. It’s a good idea to have these documents accessible and up-to-date so you can quickly provide them to the CQC when asked.

The inspection team will look at organizational policies and procedures, review records to verify practices. They’ll also speak with staff members about how things work in their facility so that they can get accurate data for Key Lines of Enquiry on what’s going well or needs improvement from this point forward.

The inspection team will meet with senior management at the end of the inspection to discuss their findings and future plans for action. They then produce a report which includes a rating on whether or not services are up-to-date in regards to regulations, as well as any recommendations about what needs improvement along those lines if anything does come up during this process.

The inspection team will use several sources of information during the inspection process, including:

• Local Information: This includes HealthWatch services, Patient Participation Groups, and local councilors which all provide valuable insight into the local area.
• Information collected before the inspection: Complaints, concerns, and incidents are all important to know before the inspection.
• Information from people who use services, their families and carers, staff, and other professionals: The data collected from interviews and comment cards distributed to stakeholders requesting their views of the service was extremely helpful in understanding how people are using it.
• The inspection: The inspection is a comprehensive review of the facility. Reviewing records, policies, and procedures observing how care was provided will allow you to speak with senior management about what they need for their business.
• Reports which are quality assured, graded, and published: Quality reports are just the way to go when you’re looking for a quality service.