Skills for Care
Top

Single Assessment Framework version

All services - change

GO Online: Inspection toolkit

Print this page

Listening to and involving people

All adult social care services should expect to receive regular feedback, including concerns and complaints raised by the people you support. You should actively seek feedback – whether good or bad – to help confirm what is going well and potential areas for improvement.

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 Listening to and involving people

Duration 02 min 00 sec

People need to be actively involved in their day-to-day care. Involving people and listening to their needs is an essential part of delivering Responsive care.

Feedback can help regulated services to know what is going well and respond to areas of concern. As part of the inspection process, the CQC will want to be assured that you are an organisation that listens and acts upon any concerns and complaints to help improve the quality of care.

The CQC inspection focus will look at how you involve people in discussing their care, treatment, and support needs. Inspectors will look at how you support people to raise concerns and complaints … and this may on occasion involve the support of external advocates and those acting on behalf of the individual.

Openness and transparency will be key to encouraging feedback but there is a balance here with the confidentiality of some of the issues that are raised. Your service will need to have systems in place to ensure anybody raising a concern or complaint is protected from discrimination, harassment, or other disadvantages.

In addition to acknowledging the feedback, it will also be important to keep people informed of what you are doing with it and how the care might be changing as a result.

In addition to interviewing managers, your staff team, and the people you support, the CQC inspectors may ask to review various documents when assessing this area including Care plans, Complaints and compliments, Staff training and induction.

GO Online brings together recommendations, examples, and resources to help this area of CQC inspection focus.

Watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/788208768

CQC focus

Inspection

What is the CQC Quality Statement?

We make it easy for people to share feedback and ideas or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. We involve them in decisions about their care and tell them what’s changed as a result.

What sub-topics might the CQC look at when inspecting this?

  • Involvement and coproduction
  • Feedback and complaints
  • Advocacy and support
  • Carer support

How does this part of the inspection relate to CQC Regulations and guidance?

How will the CQC gather evidence?

The CQC will primarily gather evidence by:

  • People's Experience
  • Feedback from staff and leaders
  • Processes

Read more about this Quality Statement

  • The CQC have published further insight into what this Quality Statement means, including the I Statements and which legislation it relates to on their website here.