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GO Online: Inspection toolkit

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Partnerships and communities

The most successful approaches to care often also draw upon the engagement, expertise and enthusiasm of the wider community and partnerships working together.

The following film provides a summary of this area of inspection. It can help you and your teams learn about what will be inspected and what is important to demonstrate to deliver good or outstanding care.

Introducing Partnerships and communities

Duration 02 min 01 sec

Well-led services are expected to engage and involve the people they support, their staff and the wider community and partnership working to ensure the organisation is fit for purpose.

It is important that all regulated care providers are actively connected and involved with their wider community. What this looks like in practice will vary but you should be prepared to share examples of how you engage with the community, including integrated healthcare systems.

Care and treatment should feel as seamless and joined-up as possible to the people you support. This is only possible if you have identified and built connections that enable this to happen.

Be ready to evidence how you work closely with others and avoid operating in isolation. Peer support is also important – so the CQC will want to know how you work closely with other organisations – to ensure you work well together and collaborate on improvements that benefit the wider community.

When working with others, the CQC will expect you to pass information safely and securely between services. Again, have the evidence at hand to demonstrate how you ensure that is the case.

People, their families and friends may be asked in interviews about how the service engages with them and how the service supports people to engage with other organisations to access the care that is needed.

Inspectors may choose to speak to external organisations, including commissioners, Healthwatch and community-based organisations you are connected with.

Regarding documented evidence, this may include business plans, minutes from meetings, external accreditation schemes or monitoring reviews etc.

If you are looking at how to meet this area of CQC inspection, visit GO Online for resources, practical examples and other recommendations.

Watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/790356966

Practical examples

The examples below provide insight into how other Good or Outstanding rated services are succeeding in this area of inspection. Use the filter to choose different types of examples or select based on related prompt.

If you have an example you would like to share, please e-mail employer.engagement@skillsforcare.org.uk.

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5 example(s) found

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How volunteers are invaluable links into the local community

In this two-minute audio clip from the Care Exchange podcast, Paul Tolley talks about how investing in volunteers can support the service to link in effectively with the local community.

You can listen to the full podcast here. Access our whole Care Exchange series here.

Read more about this service here.

Care provider: New Directions Rugby

  • Audio

Date published: November 2022

How do the people you support help you to link in with local hospitals and other parts of the community

In this two-minute audio clip from the Care Exchange podcast, Paul Tolley talks about how he is mapping connections between the people his service supports and wider health organisations, as well as other parts of the community.

You can listen to the full podcast here. Access our whole Care Exchange series here.

Read more about this service here.

Care provider: New Directions Rugby

  • Audio

Date published: November 2022

Collaborating with and learning from other registered managers

In this two-minute audio clip from the Care Exchange podcast, Becky Coles talks about how as a new manager it has been beneficial to connect with other local managers, collaborating with them and learning from them.

You can listen to the full podcast here. Access our whole Care Exchange series here.

Read more about this service here.

Care provider: Away Day Care

  • Audio

Date published: February 2022

Connecting with other managers

In this 2.5-minute audio clip from the Care Exchange podcast, Marlene Kelly explains how important connecting with other care managers is essential to support one another.

You can listen to the full podcast here and access our latest episodes of The Care Exchange here.

Read more about Marlene's service here.

Care provider: Auburn Mere

  • Audio

Date published: February 2021

Looking outwards

In this one-minute audio clip from the Care Exchange podcast, Sue Anne Nnamani explains how they keep informed on what is going on in the wider community.

You can listen to the full podcast here and access our latest episodes of The Care Exchange here.

Read more about the service here.

Care provider: Priscilla Wakefield House

  • Audio

Date published: December 2020

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