Purpose

To detail what Care Relief Team defines as ‘quality’ through best practise and legislation.

To set out how Care Relief Team intends to achieve continuous improvement in all services, reflecting national, local and Care Relief Team priorities.

To ensure the consistent delivery of safe, effective care that results in a positive Service User experience.

2. Scope

The following roles may be affected by this policy:

• All staff

The following people may be affected by this policy:

• Service Users

The following stakeholders may be affected by this policy:

• Commissioners
• Local Authority
• NHS
• Family
• Advocates
• External health professionals

3. Objectives

• To create a framework to identify and ensure quality at Care Relief Team that staff, Service Users and other stakeholders understand.
• To confirm the commitment of Care Relief Team to quality and ensuring that robust governance processes exist, which meet the needs of its Service Users, its employees, the Care Quality Commission and other key stakeholders.
• To have the tools to measure the progress and development of Care Relief Team and its staff in meeting quality in every aspect of the service.
• To ensure continuous quality improvement at Care Relief Team, emphasise that the provision of evidence-based best practice underpins all activity within Care Relief Team and its processes are benchmarked against NICE guidelines and other best practice guidance.
• To ensure employees at Care Relief Team understand the quality assurance process and roles and responsibilities to achieve consistently good service outcomes against quality markers.
• To highlight that Care Relief Team promotes a culture where quality care as well as Service User and staff safety remain high priority.

4. Policy

Care Relief Team will deliver safe, caring, efficient and high-quality care services which fully integrate quality, performance and governance as detailed in its vision and values to:

• Provide care and support to Service Users and their families which is in accordance with the individual wishes of the Service User, whilst fully supporting their human rights and the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Deliver a management style, policies and day-to-day practices that promote open communication, a culture of problem resolution rather than blame, and the involvement of all stakeholders
• Nurture a culture that is supportive of continuous improvement that is maintained by way of regular audit and review of standards of performance across the service, followed by open discussions about strengths and weaknesses, with action-planning to resolve weaknesses

4.1 Governance

Care Relief Team will ensure that there is effective governance, including assurance and auditing systems and processes. These will assess, monitor and drive improvement in the quality and safety of the services provided, including the quality of the experience for Service Users. The systems and processes will also assess, monitor and mitigate any risks relating the health, safety and welfare of Service Users and others.

Care Relief Team is committed to ensuring that we continually evaluate and seek to improve our governance and auditing practice.

4.2 Person-Centred Care

Care Relief Team recognises that a quality service is one that understands the needs and circumstances of each Service User because they are supported to give their views, and express their wishes in every aspect of their Care from design through to delivery. We will always ensure full Service User engagement in all elements of the service. We will ensure best interest decisions are made if a Service User is assessed as lacking capacity, consulting with the Service User’s representatives, family and assigned professionals. We are dedicated to a quality service that ensures Care services are accessible, appropriate, safe and effective for all in the local community, and that this includes protected characteristic groups. We also believe that workplaces must be free from discrimination so that staff can thrive and deliver excellence.

4.3 Anticipate Change

Care Relief Team will anticipate and be responsive to the changing needs of our diverse Service Users and the changing needs within our local community. We are committed to providing the best possible Service User Care and valuing the professionalism of our staff.

4.4 Areas of Responsibility

Within Care Relief Team, key individuals with the appropriate skills, experience, and knowledge will be identified to have responsibility for the following:

• Implementation of quality procedures and systems
• Meeting legal, regulatory and contractual compliance
• Auditing of the service
• Collation of data and information to monitor performance against agreed quality standards
• Listening and responding to Service Users concerns, feedback and views
• Listening and responding to concerns raised by Care Relief Team staff and other key stakeholders

4.5 Registered Manager Responsibilities

The Registered Manager has overall responsibility for:

• Ensuring there is ongoing compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements
• Ensuring compliance with policies and procedures
• Ensuring there are sufficient numbers of staff with suitable skills, experience and knowledge to deliver safe Care and maintain a high-quality service
• Reviewing and learning from accidents, incidents (including safeguarding), complaints and sharing this learning with staff
• Seeking feedback from stakeholders
• Acting on results of audits and reviews of the service
• Developing systems of achieving continuous improvement
• Collation, reporting and using data to inform stakeholders of the quality of the service
• Promoting a supportive, transparent culture where Care Relief Team can learn from any mistakes
• Collaborative working with commissioners, Local Authority, and CCGs to identify opportunities to meet the needs of the local community

4.6 Resources

Care Relief Team will ensure that necessary resources are available to effectively monitor key performance indicators. This data will be used to inform management decisions which support the delivery of quality.

5. Procedure

Quality will be assured by the existence of, and existence of, and adherence to, the relevant policies and procedures within the management system.

5.1 Care Relief Team Quality Framework

Care Relief Team will embed a quality framework that includes:

• Clearly defined quality objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable and time sensitive
• Supporting Service Users to fully contribute to the quality assurance framework wherever possible
• Ensuring a person-centred approach to the Care for each Service User
• Enabling the Service Users to set their personal objectives and involving them in the review process
• Setting targets that are focused on meeting the needs of our Service Users, our business and other stakeholders
• An organisational structure that identifies who provides vision and direction within Care Relief Team
• An implemented, up to date suite of policies and procedures that are evidence-based, reflect best practice, the needs of Care Relief Team and dovetail with any contractual requirements with regular audit cycles to ensure compliance
• Personal development plans, supervision, and appraisal systems for staff to ensure that they have the relevant skills knowledge and expertise
• The use of effective communication tools to minimise any internal or external communication barriers
• An active internal and external audit process with outcomes feeding back into the quality cycle
• An infrastructure and resources that can support delivery of aims and strategic priorities
• The building of positive relationships with partners and others working in the sector to enable sharing of experiences and resources, to pool expertise and work in partnership for the best interest of Service Users
• A means of evaluating all activity on a continuous basis and using feedback gained to inform the development of services

5.2 Internal Procedures

All Care Relief Team locations will ensure that following procedures are implemented:

• Specific Care Worker Pathway to ensure staff are regularly supported and competencies are assessed from the on-boarding process and during the length of the year.
• Specific Service User Pathway to ensure people’s requirements are regularly reviewed and feedback is gathered on regular basis.
• Regular Service Users, Families and staff surveys, including an analysis report detailing a specific action plan.
• Efficient Significant Events procedures, to ensure all incidents are recorded, investigated and sustainability is achieved.
• Regular Compliance Meetings to identify Significant Events themes and trends and plan preventive and responsive actions.
• Regular Recruitment and Retention Meetings to assess capacity ensuring a successful workforce retention and deployment.
• Regular KPI reporting to Care Relief Team’s Regional Head Office and Group Head Office to identify trends and trigger points.

5.3 External Audits

Care Relief Team is committed to:

• Maintain annual external Health and Safety audits in all its locations.
• Maintain annual external care audits in all its locations.
• Maintain annual external quality audits in all its locations, ensuring ISO 9001 (Quality management systems) is renewed.

5.4 Training

A training matrix is developed and all staff undergo training needs analysis

Training and Development is given high priority for all staff within Care Relief Team to ensure a knowledgeable and competent workforce

An environment is created where staff are committed to develop and change practice and systems in the light of research, good practice and evidence-based care

Care Relief Team will review training materials alongside any published policies and procedures to ensure consistency and ensure that they dovetail

Training is reviewed as part of root cause analysis and lessons learned when things go wrong. The Regional Operations Director will ensure mechanisms are put in place to ensure any gaps in training are closed.

5.5 Service Users

Care Relief Team staff will always ensure that the Service User has the accessible opportunity to make a full and meaningful contribution to any and all aspects of their Care. Where this is not possible due to a lack of capacity, decisions will always be made in the Service User’s best interest.

Care Relief Team will ensure that all Service Users have a person-centred Care Plan that meets their needs, expectations and wishes, created where possible, before their Care starts.

Care Plans should be reviewed at least once a year or when requirements dictate. This is detailed in the location’s Service User Pathway.

Care Relief Team must ensure that risk assessments and Care Plans are reviewed when needs change, when there is an incident, concern or near miss.

Service Users must be at the heart of any Care Planning and with their consent, family or someone who can advocate on their behalf will be involved.

Care Relief Team will ensure that Service Users know how to raise concerns, share their views and how to get involved with shaping service delivery. Care Relief Team will listen and respond, documenting any action taken.

Care Relief Team will audit consistency and reliability of Care and take remedial action where required.

Care Relief Team will ensure that principles of privacy, dignity and respect underpin all Care delivery and this will be audited.

5.6 Staff

Recruitment is valued based and robust to ensure the right people are recruited for the right job. There is a formal induction process for all staff to ensure they are provided with the skills and knowledge to gain competence to fulfil their roles. Recruitment will ensure that all pre-employment checks are undertaken and documents are held in line with the Data Protection requirements

Care Relief Team will undertake workplace observations on every Carer at the Service User’s home to witness Care delivery at a frequency agreed by the specific Care Relief Team location. This is detailed in the location’s Care Worker Pathway.

Care Relief Team will ensure all staff have regular supervisions which will include a mix of 1:1 and group supervision at a frequency agreed by the specific Care Relief Team location. This is detailed in the location’s Care Worker Pathway.

New staff should undergo supervision more frequently and where concerns arise about any member of staff, supervision frequency will increase

Priority should be given to training and personal and professional development with the need to attend mandatory training emphasised

5.7 Culture

The Registered Manager should promote a culture that is open, honest, transparent, safe and caring. The Registered Manager will ensure that:

• Staff are given the opportunity to take part in surveys that are anonymised, collated and used to determine trends
• Processes support a person-centred, ‘fair blame’ culture that actively encourages Service Users and/or their family or carers and Carers to report their concerns
• Whistleblowing and Safeguarding Policies and Procedures are widely publicised and linked to County Council procedures
• A learning culture is promoted, with audit and investigation outcomes being disseminated to staff so that lessons can be learnt and measures put in place to ensure incidents don’t arise again
• Any audits that result in actions identified, will be implemented in a timely, supportive manner, using the change management approach

5.8 Policies and Procedures

Staff can access policies and procedures at any time via the online e-learning platform.

Policies and procedures will be reviewed to ensure they meet the needs of Care Relief Team and make amendments where required to meet local policy requirements.

The Registered Manager must ensure the policies and procedures are implemented and embedded within Care Relief Team and will undertake regular compliance audits.

All policy writers must keep up to date with any local policy or best practice changes and ensure these changes are cascaded to staff.

5.8.1 Reviewing of Policies & Procedures

Reviews of Care Relief Team’s policies and procedures will be carried out on an annual basis or at any such time it is recognised that changes are required.  Changes may result from employee, management and trade union feedback and/or from changes in legislation. 

All reviews and amendments will be recorded.

It should be noted that:

• The policies and procedures do not confer any contractual rights unless specified in an employee’s contract of employment.
• The overall responsibility for the enforcement of all policies and procedures lies with Care Relief Team’s senior management team.
• Care Relief Team will retain the right to review the policies and procedures at any time.

The reviewing of all policies and procedures will be the responsibility of Head of Quality, Head of Operations and the Regional Operations Director.

5.9 Audit

Care Relief Team will undertake regular quality control audits and reviews of their service as dictated by the quality framework. These service reviews should include the following umbrella terms:

• Financial transactions
• Health and safety
• Accidents and incidents
• Safeguarding
• Compliments, concerns, and complaints
• Service User and staff feedback
• Infection control
• Care and safety performance, e.g. Care documentation, medicine management, nutrition, tissue viability
• Home visit spot checks
• Thematic audits and national audits will also be used to provide focused reviews of quality

Results will be analysed and used to:

• Develop action plans to enable achievement of improvement and result
• Steer the direction for quality initiatives and review of Care Relief Team strategy
• Form supervisions, training and performance management where necessary

This does not replace any additional, more frequent quality assurance checks that are completed as locally agreed by Care Relief Team.

5.10 Quality Improvement

Findings from audits will highlight areas for improvement and what is working well. Results will be analysed and used to:

• Develop action plans
• Steer the direction for quality initiatives and review of Care Relief Team strategy
• Form supervision, training and performance management where necessary

Individual concerns identified will be addressed through the appropriate policies and procedures. Where trends are identified through audits, the Registered Manager will report these through the governance structures of Care Relief Team to ensure that system wide improvements can be made.

5.11 Corporate Social Responsibility

Care Relief Team is a socially responsible business and we recognise the active role we can play in helping to build happier and healthier communities. Care Relief Team will do this by:

• Ensuring ethical purchasing with due diligence carried out on our supply chains
• Adhering to Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Laws as part of our purchasing strategy
• Complying with local waste reduction and recycling requirements
• Striving to be a responsible neighbour in the community we operate by ensuring the safety and security of The Agency premises
• Finding and investing in technological solutions where possible, such as low energy lighting systems, that can help us use energy resources more efficiently
• Being a ‘champion’ of change, showing how much, we care about the need for a low carbon economy and reducing our carbon footprint by ensuring staff can keep car journeys to a minimum by careful rostering
• Motivating staff to actively care about the environment, giving them guidance and information to help them make a real difference
• Producing and reviewing specific Community Engagements plans, to collaborate with the wider community.