The CQC’s view of Radar Healthcare
17 February 2020
As part of our continued drive to measure effectiveness, we’ve been working with our customers to understand how they determine the impact of Radar Healthcare:
- Has it saved time?
- Has it streamlined processes?
- Has it helped deliver better care?
- Has it facilitated digital transformation?
The reoccurring theme throughout these conversations is regulatory compliance; through the CQC and other regulatory bodies – and with Radar Healthcare’s software following a standards-based approach, it’s no wonder over 5,000 health and care locations are now using our quality and compliance software to support their quality assurance framework.
Can technology support CQC compliance?
The CQC has long championed the use of technology in care. In fact, Kate Terroni, the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care stated in a recent article that she strongly believes “technology can greatly improve the experience for staff as well as people receiving services, allowing them to spend less time on paperwork and; instead enabling them to focus more of their time on doing what they do best – delivering compassionate and person-centred care.”
This statement really epitomises the reason Radar Healthcare was created – to help health and care providers deliver better care.
But what do regulatory bodies like the CQC think of Radar Healthcare?
As part of our research, we’ve been reviewing the CQC reports of our customers to establish how inspectors document the use of Radar Healthcare for quality and compliance management. Here are our findings:
| Key Line of Enquiry | CQC inspection comments |
| Are they safe? | Automated action planning
“We reviewed the computer system and saw that there were drop down boxes which had to be completed as part of the safeguarding referral. If any were answered “no” the system automatically generated an action plan which the person allocated to investigate had to complete before the referral could be closed.” ERS Medical CQC inspection report published June 2019
Monitoring to ensure staff are fully trained “The matrix confirmed that staff training was 98% complete. The software system sent an alert to the training manager when training was due so they could plan it into the staff members rota. This meant that people were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs.” Porthaven Care Homes CQC inspection report published August 2019 |
| Are they effective? | Effective auditing
“There was a monthly audit programme in place. We saw audit compliance were always above the set standard.” ERS Medical CQC inspection report published June 2019
Robust controls “Exceptionally robust quality and governance controls meant that the risks to the service were identified and mitigated quickly and that when errors did occur, lessons were learnt and shared to prevent reoccurrence.” Essex Cares CQC inspection report published February 2019 |
| Are they caring? | Proactive care
“The manager had looked at ways to get more feedback from staff, relatives and people who used the service about the home. A new electronic system was being used. Any feedback went directly to the managers email. Responses we saw were very positive. One comment “Thank you once again for looking after my [relative].” Gorsey Clough CQC inspection report published May 2019 |
| Are they responsive to people’s needs? | Well managed risks
“Risks were well managed. Where people had behaviours that might challenge the service these were being identified, monitored and well managed.” Gorsey Clough CQC inspection report published May 2019 |
| Are they well-led? | Good oversight
“There were effective and integrated business management systems which gave senior leaders up to date information and oversight of the service.” ERS Medical CQC inspection report published June 2019
Technology to make information accessible “Staff felt that changing to an electronic care planning and record keeping system had led to improvements in the quality of documentation. Their comments included, “It is so much more organised. I love the new systems, I can find everything I need”, “Everything is easier, I know where to find things now” and “They are tidier and you can see at a glance what is going on, you can look back on the days before easily, it is really handy.” Porthaven Care Homes CQC inspection report published August 2019
Reflecting on lessons learnt “Incidents were recorded on a new software system and were reviewed by the registered manager and the regional director before being closed. They could reflect on and review the quality of the actions and the findings were fed down to the staff group. Different actions included referrals to health and social care professionals, additional staff training and changes to people’s care plans. The registered manager told us, “This system is more focussed and sophisticated.” Porthaven Care Homes CQC inspection report published August 2019 |
Whilst Radar Healthcare has been developed to support all Key Lines of Enquiry for CQC inspections, qualitative feedback from our customers indicates that the CQC is most impressed with how ‘Well-Led’ organisations that use Radar Healthcare are. Radar Healthcare provides real-time visibility and corporate oversight to ensure that management teams always understand the organisation’s quality and compliance status – whether they manage one or 100 locations.
Carrying out audits and self-assessments with Radar Healthcare
Radar Healthcare provides health and social care organisations with a completely automated approach to managing audit-related activity.
With the ability to carry out audits on and offline, the software can be configured to carry out mock CQC inspections to ensure you know what the outcome would be if an inspector visited tomorrow.
You can find out more about how audits and self-assessments can be managed through Radar Healthcare here.
Case studies
To read more about the impact that Radar Healthcare has had on our customer’s organisations, you can view our series of case studies here.
Radar Healthcare
Quality and compliance focused software that helps improve the delivery of health and social care, whilst helping you evidence effectiveness and continuous improvement. We know you aspire to be outstanding, so we help simplify the regulatory complexities you face, giving you more time to focus on delivering excellent care. Want to know more? Get in touch with us today, or book a demo of our software here