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Continuing to sail on the sea of CQC change

Was it really six months ago when I wrote the CQC: Big changes are on the horizon blog? Much has happened since late January, and we’re still in a state of uncertainty regarding the lifting of restrictions, but that hasn’t held back the CQC; they’ve continued to progress with their planned changes.

Whilst many of us have been sailing across the sea of primary care, some encountering stormy waters (yes, they are some of the lyrics from ‘Sailing’ by Rod Stewart), we may be once again about to enter uncharted waters.

Why do I say this? Well, there seems to be a lack of clarity about what approach the CQC will be taking. They announced in late June that the Transitional Monitoring Approach (TMA), or you may know this as the Transitional Regulatory Approach (TRA), is being replaced with a ‘new’ monitoring approach… Cue another TLA (three-letter abbreviation)! VMA perhaps – Virtual Monitoring Approach? Or RMA – Regular Monitoring Approach? Let’s hope it’s more accurate than VAR! (That’s ‘video assistant referee’).

What do we know? During the month of June, the ‘new’ approach was being piloted in the Midlands and the East of England, and the plan is to extend this approach across the rest of the country from July. But what does this mean for the existing monitoring approaches the CQC use? For now (brace yourselves for more TLAs!), it appears that the ARR and PIC will remain in force, as will focused and comprehensive inspections.

The ‘new’ approach by the CQC sees them conducting reviews of service providers on a monthly basis, thereby enhancing their ability to monitor risk. Using this information and the evidence they gather, the CQC will be able to determine whether they need to re-assess the rating or quality of service that’s being provided. Eureka! It should be called the Remote Monitoring Approach.

The information they use to determine their next steps will be things like previous inspection reports, insight data, feedback/reviews and, of course, the local CQC inspectors’ existing knowledge of your practice. Hmm, sounds very similar to the ARR or PIC, doesn’t it? Especially as the CQC have stated that they may need to call practices to discuss their findings!

The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” springs to mind. Call me cynical, but I can’t help feeling that this ‘new’ approach is going to see the CQC contacting practices monthly and draining a precious commodity – the practice manager’s time! I could be proved wrong, but something tells me they’ll be making lots of calls during the pilot phase.

I can understand the logic of, let’s call it, remote monitoring, compiling and analysing data on a regular basis; this enables the CQC to highlight areas of concern and determine whether they need to visit or not. But to build an accurate picture of how an individual practice is performing will take longer than a month, of that I’m pretty certain!

One thing that seems to be omitted is ‘outstanding practice’ – focusing on what practices are doing well, listening to individual team members talk about their engagement with service users or initiatives that have helped to enhance patient care and user experiences. So, how do they capture this element? You could argue via ‘feedback’, but I’d suggest that this is best achieved by either face-to-face discussions or over the phone; hence my cynicism about the CQC calling practices potentially monthly! Let’s see. Feel free to share your experiences by adding a comment at the bottom of this blog.

So, whilst sailing through the sea of change, you’ll want to know how you can prepare for any of the CQC approaches that you could be faced with, should the CQC decide to target your practice.

There’s no need to abandon ship or hit the ‘man overboard’ alarm just yet! To ensure you stay afloat, we’ve produced ‘CQC – A Guide to Success’ [PLUS] which covers the various CQC processes, pre-inspection requirements, additional guidance such as a recommended list of policies, a pre-inspection checklist, an inspection evidence checklist and a CQC checklist. Throughout this comprehensive, 85-page document there are multiple hyperlinks to policies, protocols, GP mythbusters and much more.

As Bob Dylan once said, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, and I’ll need to be alert and extra vigilant when it comes to monitoring that horizon for further CQC changes. Rest assured, I’ll let you know what’s happening ’cross the sea.

Phil

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Phil - Practice Index

Phil is the Learning and Compliance manager for Practice Index. With over 26 years' experience in primary care, including a career in the Royal Navy, Phil provides training and consultancy support to the primary care sector, specialising in CQC advice, organisational change and strategic management.

View all posts by Phil - Practice Index
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