Why you should consider a Mock Inspection with the team at Swift

Why you should consider a Mock Inspection with the team at Swift Many of our clients decide to undertake Mock Inspections of services as a way of improving their service and ensuring staff are prepared for the formal regulatory inspection.

The Swift Mock inspection uses the CQC Key Lines of Enquiry (known as KLOE’s) alongside the inspection framework used by inspectors. We seek to provide a comprehensive report covering all of the KLOE’s.

Given that CQC use information from residents, families, local authorities, and other professionals to assist in their decision making process. We can advise on how to ensure that all the positive information about the service is captured.

Our inspection will provide a valuable insight into the service, it will also provide details about where the information used to make that assessment was located. This makes it easier on the day of inspection to provide the evidence required. We can advise on evidence files to ensure that nothing is missed.

Any regulatory inspection is a snapshot of the service, balanced with other information provided about the service so we aim to ensure the feedback is the best it can be by providing a detailed action plan.

Another aspect of a mock inspection is to assist staff to showcase your service. Staff can really make or break an inspection. So, helping them be accustomed to the process is key. Fear plays a big factor and staff often stumble because they simple do not want to get it wrong. This can sometimes lead to bigger problems than they thought.

A real life example of this comes from a care home we support and provided safeguarding training for all their staff. On the day of the inspection one member of staff was asked by the inspector about her safeguarding training. The response was “we haven’t had any safeguarding training”. This was relayed to the manager, who spoke to the staff member later that day. It transpired that the reason the staff

member had said this was because they believed it was better to say that and stop the questioning going further, just in case they got the answer wrong. Clearly in this example it only made the situation worse.

Offering the staff, the opportunity to build confidence in answering

questions, allowing them to speak up and encouragement them to showcase the service is invaluable.

Some residents, families and indeed staff, use the inspection experience to “have their say” when they may not be happy about a service or something needs changing. Our mock inspection gives these people to opportunity to do exactly that but gives the provider the opportunity to put things right or explain the situation ahead of the real inspection.

No inspector expects to find a perfect service, every service will have something to improve upon even if they are rated “Outstanding”. The key to managing the inspection well is to have a truly transparent action plan which is updated. This shows the inspector that the manager is aware of the issues they have, they are taking action to address them, and the provider is aware of what is happening in the service. This goes a long way in to demonstrating well led. Therefore, it worthwhile investing the time to write a Service Improvement Plan. Our mock inspection provides this plan as a result of the findings.

A service that is responsive to residents and family needs and who are aware of what needs to be better, is in a very strong position, therefore our mock inspection can put the manager and provider on a strong footing.

We can enhance this service using our engagement surveys, providing object reports about what people really think of the service.