External Compliance Audits – Are They Worth It?

We know that working in Social Care, regardless of your role, is a challenging and often stressful environment. The industry is now one of the most heavily regulated and yet underfunded of our health and social care services.

Regulations, Quality Statements, Good Practice Guidance, Local Authority Monitoring and Media Scrutiny – it can be an endless task trying to balance maintaining a safe service and keeping up with the huge burden of regulation.

We are not saying regulation is a bad thing, it isn’t, but with budgets tight, having a dedicated in-house Quality Assurance Team is the preserve of larger corporate providers. Smaller providers simply can’t afford it, and we talk to lots of owners and managers, many of whom are overwhelmed and often disillusioned with all the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Because of these pressures, many owners and managers are not wholly confident of how well their service is performing, especially since the introduction of CQC’s Single Assessment Framework. Many we speak to tell us this is their number one concern; they simply do not have the time to dig as deep as they would like to reassure themselves that they are fully compliant.

Can a External Compliance Audit Help?

In a word, yes, when they are done properly. Having an independent and impartial compliance audit ticks many boxes:

• Provides a detailed snapshot of how the service is performing.
• Identifies good and bad practice, so that managers can prioritise the things that matter
• Gives advice and guidance on how to improve
• You can use to create improvement action plans
• Demonstrates a commitment to Good Governance and Continuous Improvement – a CQC hot topic
• Provides clarity and reassurance to Owners, Directors and Managers

How can W&P help?

W&P have been supporting the health and social care sector for nearly 25 years, during that time we have carried out hundreds of audits, giving us a unique insight into the workings of different social care services.

You will get the very best service from W&P auditors. Our approach is to be supportive, non-judgmental and sensitive to ensure you get the most out of the audit.

Compliance audits usually comprise 6 hours on-site plus report writing. The report lists the evidence seen against each regulation and links this to the Quality Statements. It provides useful advice, tips and sources of further information to create an action plan or response to the audit.

The customer is in control, and the audit can reflect whatever the customer’s needs are, such as a focus on safeguarding or medication management. This will be planned with you to ensure the audit is fit for purpose

For more information on External Compliance Audits – Are They Worth It? talk to W&P Compliance Centre