Care Inspectorate - A Changed Approach

A Changed Approach

In 2008 the Care Commission changed its approach to inspection. While still based on the National Care Standards, the criteria for assessing quality were grouped and organised into "Quality Themes". These are inspected, and then graded in the report of the inspection. Services are expected to self assess and to grade their performance, and to involve their users in assessing the quality of the service provided.

These changes are part of a wider project known as Regulation for Improvement. The focus on improvement is centred on how well people who use the service have a say in its quality, and in how it is operated.There is also more emphasis on inspection officers taking part in aspects of the service. For example, the inspection might include being at meetings, seeing activities in the service, etc.

Services are given grades on four Quality Themes:

• Care and Support,
• Environment
• Staffing
• Leadership and Management.

Quality grades vary on a six point scale - Unsatisfactory, Weak, Adequate, Good, Very Good and Excellent.

A grading scale is also used by HMIE when inspecting schools. There were integrated inspections involving the Care Commission and HMIE. The Care Commission gives specific weighting on grades to ensure that less than adequate performance clearly brings down the overall grade. This provides a greater motive for improvement in those areas.

The aim of the grading system was to provide a clearer indicator of quality and of where improvements were needed. The changed approach was welcomed: it allows a greater focus on the point of view of the service user, and allowing funding authorities to make clearer, quality based decisions about ongoing funding. See Bill Duncan's article in Journal of Care Services Management

The grading system was retained by the Care Inspectorate when it took over the work of the Care Commission.