Supporting people to have choice and control over their own lives is central to this area of CQC inspection. Your service will need to be able to demonstrate how you enable this to happen, as well as how you support people’s independence.
There should be documented evidence of how you have supported people to make decisions about their living arrangements, their home environment, and the care and treatment they receive. However, much of the focus is likely to be around their independence and social connections.
For many people, the ability to maintain close links with their community will be important to them, so the CQC will want to look at how your service enables that to happen. This will be less about providing one-off activities, and more about the regular ways in which you enable people to retain their independence and meets their social needs.
The CQC may look at how you are using technology and adaptive equipment to support their independence and help people stay connected with those important to them.
During the inspection, the CQC may want to interview people about their experiences and how the service supports them to manage their choice, control, and independence. Managers and staff should be ready to share examples of what has been achieved.
Staff training records, policies and procedures and evidence of various activities and social engagements in the community may be looked at as evidence.
For residential services, the inspection will also look at how you support visiting rights and enable people to keep in close, regular contact with those important to them.
To help you to meet these areas of CQC inspection, GO Online includes related resources, practical examples and recommendations.
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