Homecare monitoring provides valuable quality data

With the publication of ‘Rating Providers for quality: a policy worth pursuing?’ by the Nuffield Trust, there is now much deliberation over whether an Ofsted-style performance ratings system would be appropriate for the healthcare sector.

The review was commissioned by The Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP and concluded that analysis suggests there is a gap in the provision of clearly presented, comprehensive and trusted information on the quality of care.

The challenge of finding a meaningful ratings system that is relevant across hospitals, general practices, care homes and domiciliary care Providers is already acknowledged.

Care Monitoring 2000 are keen to highlight the extensive quality data already available where homecare visits are monitored.

It is widely recognised that late or missed visits and lack of continuity of Care Workers cause considerable distress to people receiving care at home. Care Monitoring 2000’s CallConfirmLive! provides real-time information on these and other quality indicators which allow proactive action to be taken where necessary.  

84 Councils and over 700 Care Providers already use CallConfirmLive! which logs almost 1 million homecare visits every week.

Councillor Steven Kelly from London Borough of Havering explains “Care Monitoring 2000 opened our eyes to the quality of homecare we were delivering in Havering and has allowed us to put in place significant improvements. We now only pay for care delivered and have a range of quality indicators which help ensure Service Users are getting the quality of services they deserve.”

City of Edinburgh Council use reports on quality indicators such as continuity of care, punctuality and duration of visits to bring greater transparency which contributes towards meeting the goals of their 'Live Well in Later Life' strategy. And in Southend-on-Sea, data reported from CallConfirmLive! provides the Council with the evidence required to effectively manage the quality of the homecare service.

Some Councils are already sharing Provider performance data from CallConfirmLive! with Service Users, giving access to service delivery information which can assist them in choosing a Provider who consistently achieves high levels of quality. This is particularly helpful for self-funders and those receiving direct payments.

Whilst the value and practicalities of a new ratings system for the healthcare sector is considered, Care Monitoring 2000 hope that better use will be made of the quality information already in existence.  

Four Oaks House

160 Lichfield Road

Sutton Coldfield

West Midlands

B74 2TZ

Tel: 0121 308 3010

email: services@cm2000.co.uk

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