It's the time of year when your respective care homes have either had an inspection or are due one sometime. I want to explore this topic in detail with you, as many AC's ask me about this and panic.
Firstly, don't panic.As you read on you will find the information and checklist a good tool to use in your preparation.
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Firstly, if your home rating is a good then usually you are inspected every two years unless something has happened significantly to warrant an inspection.
If your home's rating was adequate or needed improvement in an area specifically then unannounced inspections will occur, so always be ready.
Also when inspections do take place sometimes, the inspectors may only want to see certain areas of the home for example, they may come and just check the medication records, care plans or activities, etc and this is called a focused inspection or do a full in depth inspection which can be anything from a day to 3 days and with more then one inspector and this is called a comprehensive inspection .
Also when an inspector comes, it is not uncommon for you as the person providing activities to be interviewed and even for the inspector to observe you facilitating an activity session.
Don't be nervous, just answer any questions truthfully and as accurately as you can.
It is also your opportunity to raise any concerns to the inspector that you may have about the home and the service provided. Their feedback to the owners of the home is ALWAYS taken seriously.
Also mention all the good positive aspects of the home and what you do in your role.
Here is a list for you to check against to prepare for inspection and if you do these things anyway, you will have nothing to worry about-
Signing in book- ALWAYS ensure there is a photo album by the signing in book at the entrance that show cases your activity sessions with the residents. If for any reason you are not there when an inspection takes place, you have clearly demonstrated what does go on in the home, also it is good for the relatives to see what their loved ones get up to. It gives a clear impression that activities do take place.
Weekly/Monthly Schedule Displayed- Always ensure there is a clear weekly or monthly schedule displayed on the notice board that is very visible to all. Ensure each resident has a copy and that you have a copy in their care-plan and activity records folder. This is what is looked for and if there is not one displayed it will immediately draw attention to that fact and also make sure it is up to date.
Display Boards- Main display boards should be full of the residents art work, whatever theme you are following, pictures of activity sessions etc. Blank display boards tell of no activity, it is an opportunity once again to highlight what is going on in the home, also helps the resident's to orientate themselves with the current themes and again shows that regular stuff is going on. And once again if you are not there, it would highlight what work you have done with your residents.
Record Keeping- Always make sure you have recorded your activity sessions done in main communal areas in a book or diary that clearly states the time, date, all who participated and what activity took place and a short summary of what you did and how people engaged.
Also you need to ensure you shown person centeredness in planning your activities and have taken the whole person into account. So showing records of life story books and other recorded information showing that time has been taken to find out what people enjoy is also important.
And also individual personal activity logs must be kept as well.
PAT Testing- If you use any electrical items in your activities such as laminators,CD players, DVD players , etc always make sure they are PAT tested to prove they have been checked by a qualified electrician.
Risk Assessments- If you are planning an activity for an example an outing make sure you have written a risk assessment and if the risk assessment has a review date on it, make sure it has been reviewed and recorded and all parties that are meant to sign has signed it.
What you have to remember is that when inspectors come in they want to get to the to the heart of people’s experiences of care and support, the focus of the inspection is
on the quality and safety of services, based on the things that matter to people.
They therefore
ask five key questions about the service, which are is it :
Safe: you are protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
Effective: your care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes, helps you to maintain quality of life and is based on the best available evidence.
Caring: staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Responsive: services are organised so that they meet your needs.
Well-led: the leadership, management and governance of the organisation make sure it's providing high-quality care that's based around your individual needs, that it encourages learning and innovation, and that it promotes an open and fair culture.
Things such as the decor, labels on doors, pictures in the corridors all make a difference to the residents enjoyment of their environment. So displaying what you do with the residents is paramount.
Finally, take time to read and review other homes reports who have managed to get outstanding by just doing little things, like one report I read of a home who got outstanding mentioned all the staff walk around with bubbles in their pockets so they can interact with the residents, they will stop and have a chat about their day for a few minutes. It's the little things. You can gleam ideas.
Please download this useful resource to help you in your activity provision and inspection -
www.cot.co.uk/living-well-through-activity-care-homes-toolkit-0
Online FB Group Support
I hear all too often the AC role is isolating so I have built up an online community to help support other AC's worldwide in our little hub.
Lots of special promotions, free giveaways and a great resource of files on activities is available to all members free.
You can join the group here -
.https://www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup
I also do a monthly newsletter you can sign up here and get my free eBook-
To get your free copy of our ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly"
Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1
Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x
