Quality Assurance
We want everyone who uses our services to receive the best support that we can offer, and our quality assurance systems help us to ensure that we are getting this right. Our dedicated Quality Assurance & Compliance Manager, Cath Nutburn, is responsible for ensuring that our service delivery is maintained to the high standards we expect, and meets all the relevant regulatory requirement. Cath has a very visible presence in our services to provide ongoing support for the team in relation to compliance around the regulations. She also undertakes regular observation sessions with the staff team in relation to how and how they demonstrate our values through their working practices, how they are interacting with service users, and how they uphold the Reach Standards through their interactions.
The Reach Standards are focused on ensuring that service user have choice and control in their own lives, and can make the choices and decisions that matter to them:
- I choose who I live with
- I choose where I live
- I have my own home
- I choose how I am supported
- I choose who supports me
- I get good support
- I choose my friends and relationships
- I choose how to be healthy and safe
- I choose how to take part in my community
- I have the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens
- I get help to make changes in my life
Cath is also responsible for ensuring that all of our staff team has access to relevant training and development opportunities to increase and improve their knowledge and skills, and ensure they can meet the high standard of care and support provision we expect for our service users.
How we Ensure the Quality of Our Staff Teams
- Provision of a comprehensive induction training programme
- Opportunities to participate in further training and professional development courses
- Regular support and supervision, and an Annual Performance Review
- Expertise through experience – utilising the skills and knowledge of our more experienced staff team members to support the personal and professional development of new staff team members
- On-site Assistant Managers in each Supported Living home to oversee the day to day running of the home and provide support and guidance to the team and service
How We Ensure the Quality of our Service Provision
Our Supported Living Service and Residential Service are regulated by The Care Quality Commission (CQC) and our services are assessed under their Single Assessment Framework that focuses on the following five key areas:
Being safe ∙ Being effective ∙ Being caring ∙ Being responsive to people’s needs ∙ Being well-led
How We Meet the Requirements of the Single Assessment Framework:
Safe | Effective | Caring | Responsive | Well-led |
Safe, skilled staff | People living their lives with choice and control | Welcoming and friendly team | Person-centred approaches | Effective leadership and governance |
Safe environment | Improved health outcomes | Kind and compassionate approaches | ‘You say and we do’ approach | Experienced and skilled management team |
Safe medication management | Experienced staff teams | Respecting privacy | Flexible approach to changing needs | Effective partnerships |
Appropriate risk management | Collaboration with service users, their families and professionals | Upholding dignity | Listening to and acting on feedback | Vision and Values that inform service delivery |
Comprehensive safeguarding policy and processes | Quality Assurance | Respecting everyone as an individual | Positive action when change is needed | Regular review of service delivery |
Our service delivery is guided by the requirements of the following legislation:
→ The Care Act 2014
→ The Data Protection Act 2018
→ The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
→ The Equality Act 2010
→ The Health & Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
→ The Human Rights Act 1998
→ The Mental Capacity Act 2005
→ The Mental Capacity Code of Practice
→ The UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
We work closely with the local authorities and our services are subject to regular inspections, along with regular inspections by CQC. Our internal Quality Assurance process also helps us to identify areas for improvement and review to ensure that we maintain the high standards of support provision we want our service users to receive.