Supported Living: A Step-by-Step Guide to CQC Registration and Compliance!
Supported Living is a form of social care that helps individuals with disabilities, mental health challenges, or other support requirements live independently in their own homes or in community-based settings. Services usually provide assistance with daily activities such as personal care, if registered with the CQC, meal preparation, and housekeeping, as well as support in managing finances and accessing education or job opportunities. The aim of Supported Living is to encourage independence while supporting service users to live meaningful, fulfilling lives within their communities.
At ClouDoc, we provide a comprehensive document management system that contains all the policies and operational documents you require for your health and social care business. Our team has put together this quick guide into the CQC registration process and requirements for Supported Living services that provide regulated activities.
Understanding regulated activities
If a Supported Living service
provides personal care for adults (e.g., help with washing, dressing, or
medication), they must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and
social care providers in England; this is because personal care is a regulated
activity. This is a requirement before you can legally operate, and you must
demonstrate your compliance with its standards and regulations.
CQC registration enables providers to deliver personal care, which may open opportunities for certain contracts and partnerships. However, this will be dependent on the provider’s skills, experience, and the needs of the service users they intend to support.
Supported Living services who soley provide non-regulated activities, on the other hand, offer housing-related support rather than personal care. These services can offer general assistance with things like managing finances, accessing community resources, maintaining a tenancy, or developing life skills for greater independence. They often work in partnership with care providers or signpost service users to arrange their own personal care separately.
An overview of the registration process
If you are Supported Living service that provides a regulated activity, as part of your application for registration, you will be required to submit a number of key documents. You can find all the key documents required for registration in the CQC folder on your ClouDoc account; these include:
- Care Plan
- Complaints Policy
- Consent Policy
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Policy
- Easy Read Tenancy Agreement
- Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Policy
- Governance Policy
- Infection Control and Cleanliness Policy
- Lone Working Policy
- Medication Administration Policy
- Medication Management Policy
- Mental Capacity Policy
- Organisational Structure and Contacts Document
- Quality Assurance Policy
- Recruitment Policy
- Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture Policy
- Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy
- Service User Care Contract
- Service User’s Home Security Policy
- Supported Living Tenancy Agreement
You can view a full list of all the Supported Living Polices and Operational Documents that are available on ClouDoc here.
In some cases, the CQC may require further evidence, which could be additional documentation and/or other polices not on the list. These are usually specific to the merits of your application. After this application assessment, the CQC will invite the Registered Manager and Nominated Individual to attend a fit person interview, where they will evaluate various aspects of your service, such as your management, facilities, and your policies and procedures.
If you require support with CQC registration, Care Agency Media is here to assist you. Their team has extensive experience in guiding providers throughout this entire process. They provide support in completing the application, collecting the necessary documents, and helping you understand the key criteria for a successful registration. Whether you are setting up a new Supported Living service or need expert advice on regulatory standards, they provide tailored support to help you meet all necessary requirements. Contact Care Agency Media today to learn how they can assist you.
Creating your policies and operational documents
Your Supported Living policies and procedures govern the day-to-day operations of your service. They will guide staff on everything from safeguarding to health and safety and should be carefully tailored to your service. They should reflect the specific types of care you provide, the types of individuals you support, and the organisational structure of your company.
All of our policies are built around the CQC assessment framework, including the fundamental standards, key questions, quality statements and ‘I statements’. This helps you demonstrate your adherence to the CQC standards and regulations and the legislation that governs them – the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
With your ClouDoc package, you will have all the policies you need to operate, securely stored and managed in one place. These policies will also be kept up-to-date with any regulatory or legislative changes to ensure compliance.
Preparing for a CQC inspection
Once your Supported Living service is operational, you will undergo regular CQC inspections to ensure continued compliance with their standards. These inspections may be unannounced, so it’s essential to stay prepared.
Inspectors will evaluate your provision of regulated activity against their assessment framework, determining whether they are:
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive to people’s needs
- Well-led
Each key question also has a corresponding set of ‘I statements’, which reflect what people have said matters to them. For example, “I feel safe and am supported to understand and manage any risks”.
All of ClouDoc policies incorporate the above key questions and ‘I statements’ to highlight your awareness of the CQC’s expectations. To stay prepared for inspections, conduct regular internal checks, keep care plans updated, provide ongoing staff training, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. On your ClouDoc account, you can use our review feature to regularly review your documents are ensure they remained aligned with your service provision.
Preparing your staff
Another integral part of ensuring compliance with CQC requirements is having a well-trained staff team. Inspectors will be looking for whether you have an appropriate number of qualified staff to meet the needs of your service users. It’s equally important that staff are familiar with your service’s policies and procedures and can apply their learning in practice. During inspections, the CQC will look for evidence that staff are effectively using their training.
With ClouDoc’s Employee Plan, you can seamlessly assign documents to staff, who can read them through their own account either online or through our app. You can keep track of what documents employees have read and signed, making your policy dissemination quick and simple.
To learn more about CQC’s requirements and assessment framework, you can find out more information at https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/regulations.
For document-related queries, or to learn more about how ClouDoc can support your registration process, feel free to reach out at 0330 808 0050 or email support@cloudoc.co.uk. We are happy to help!
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