Quality assurance policies for care homes are put in place to help ensure that the quality of care for residents is the best it can possibly be. There are a lot more regulations put in place these days to help protect elderly people that are in care homes. These are some of the main quality assurance policies that a care home should have in place, it is essential to put in research and find a home that is right for your loved one.

Inspections

Ensuing that inspections are carried out at random throughout the year is an essential part of all aspects of quality assurance policies for care homes. There are different types of inspections that should be carried out, including;

Internal mock inspections – like all inspections, internal mock inspections should be carried out at random. They should be carried out by a member of senior management and we tested against CQC standards and regulations.

CQC inspections – the care quality commission is a public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the UK and is used to regulate and inspect that all quality assurance policies for care homes are being met and to point out any improvements that can be made.

Local Authority Inspections – inspections can also be carried out by local authorities to help ensure that quality assurance policies for care homes are being met. Before choosing a care home for a loved one you can ask your local authority if particular homes need assessment and can help you choose the right one.

Inspections from all bodies listed above should be done every year.

Service Improvement

Once inspections have been carried out and any improvements that can be made have been established more quality assurance policies for care homes can be put into place to ensure that staff are on top of it.

Complaints Handling and Suggestions

There should always be some sort of complaints procedure put in place and it’s beneficial to have a system in place for staff, residents and family members to help ensure that you are getting a 360° view of the running of the care home. Complaints handling should always be done in a professional and structured way and all complaints, no matter how big or small they may seem, should be properly recorded and filed. As well as an official complaints handling policy for a care home it can also be a good idea to have a suggestion box to allow people anonymity if they have any ideas about how to improve quality assurance policies for care homes.

Care Provided in Line with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

You want to ensure that the care home that you are choosing provides care in line with CVC regulations. Care homes in the UK need to follow these regulations to be passable and stay open.