CQC Mock Inspections

What is a CQC Mock Inspection?

Before a CQC visit, if you do not measure your care home in the same way as CQC does, how will you know what rating you are going to get on your next CQC inspection? CQC mock inspection is a process where you get experts in CQC compliance to independently audit your care home to identify any potential areas of concern or breach of CQC regulations before the real inspection.

All care homes should follow the CQC regulations to operate in England. You get drowned in day-to-day activities when you are in the business, and it is easy to get carried away. Any breach of CQC regulations may result in a red or amber report which may negatively affect the running of the care home. Having an ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Requires Improvement’ rating will drive your care home to the drowning cycle with your care home business. Not auditing before an actual CQC inspection is not worth the risk.

Why should you have a care home mock inspection?

Mock inspection should be carried out for different, but important, reasons.

People searching for care homes tend to look at the latest CQC report before they decide to visit a care home. You will be missing an opportunity even before you can have a chance to talk to them about the report. Having a red or amber CQC report will keep you in a compromised position in comparison to Good and Outstanding rated care homes.

How are we different?

Issac Theophilos, the author of the best-selling book How to get outstanding: An ultimate guide for care homes leads all the inspections. He holds a wealth of knowledge not only in compliance but also in operating a five-star rated care home. Our assessment is nothing less than outstanding. The evaluation of your care homes is based on high standards, and not just on meeting the compliance. We not only cover the compliance but we are also interested in researching about your care home holistically to identify why you are doing what you are doing. We are more interested in ‘why’ something went wrong, rather than ‘what’ went wrong.

What will I get after a CQC mock inspection?

After a CQC mock inspection, you will get a ‘Mock Inspection Report’ and ‘Quality Improvement (QI) Action Plan’ along with the ‘Verbal Feedback’ on the day.

How much will I get charged for a mock inspection?

The charges depend on a few factors – the size of the care home, current CQC rating, and anything specific you want us to look at. Existing ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ care homes need in-depth analysis. We may even extend the days of inspection if we identify any areas of concern that need further checks with your approval. The pricing also varies if you are only requesting a ‘QI Action Plan’ without a long detailed Mock Inspection Report, or just a ‘Verbal Feedback’.

Can I ask for a focused inspection?

Yes, nothing is set in stone. The beauty of working with us is the flexibility of asking what you want to be done, and we follow your instructions. We can look at the specific area on revisits spending only a few areas. The focus of our inspection is on the care planning process, medication management, policies and procedure, and HR.

We will get experts to carry out a focused inspection on the following:

• Detailed care plan auditing.
• Medication management.
• Policies and procedures.
• HR paper works.
• Health and safety.
• COVID infection control precautions.
• As needed.

Do I have to be around on the day of inspection?

We prefer to give feedback at the end of the day to the person who has commissioned us. We highly recommend the Manager and the Directors to be around on the day of our inspection. The Manager can carry on with their day-to-day work but we may require to ask a few questions in between.

Is CQC mock inspection disruptive to the service?

Not at all. We will not be disrupting your service delivery in any way. All your staff can carry on with daily routines. We might interview them during times when they are less busy. The Residents’ needs are always treated as a priority.

We do an internal mock inspection; why should I do an external one?

Different companies have different Quality Assurance processes. Some care homes do both internal and external mock inspections for a robust QI process. Those care homes are not doing this to pass CQC, but to deliver the best care all the time in line with the legislation.

You can decide to have internal people doing the mock inspection, but the chances are that it may be highly biased as they are also part of the system. With our experts, we will give you an objective assessment of your current performance. We don’t believe it until we see the facts.

View Sample Mock Inspection

How often should I do a CQC mock inspection for my care home?

It depends on your quality assurance process. If it is a poorly performing care home, we recommend you to sign up for six months ‘Step up to outstanding’ programme to get your care home to a Good level. If it is an already ‘Outstanding’ rated care home a once a year check should be enough.

How much can I save by doing a mock inspection?

There is a great deal of transactional value by conducting a mock inspection. You are proactive than reactive. If you take a ‘reactive’ approach, you may encounter some unexpected expenses in the long run.

1. Serious safeguarding.
2. Compensation due to serious injury.
3. Legal fees. (not all the legal support is covered with insurance).
4. Poor team culture resulting in problems with recruitment and retention.
5. Poor leadership and lack of support to management.
6. Challenging CQC reports.
7. Potential closure of the care home.
8. Quality issues.

What should I do to book you for a CQC mock inspection?

We are dedicated to providing the best care home consultancy in England to help you raise the quality of your care and achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC. Contact us now to speak to one of our experts and find out how we can help you.

Contact us:

1. Call us on 0333 090 4479
2. Email us at hello@outstandingcarehomes.co.uk