Resources
CQC guidance
A plain-English orientation to how regulation works in practice. This is general guidance, not legal advice, and ACC is independent of the Care Quality Commission.
The five key questions
- Safe — are people protected from avoidable harm?
- Effective — does care achieve good outcomes?
- Caring — are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive — is care organised around the person?
- Well-led — does leadership and governance actually work?
Quality statements
Each key question is broken into quality statements written as 'we' commitments. Treat each one as a question to answer with evidence: what do we do, how do we know it works, and what did we change when it did not?
Evidence categories
- People's experience of care
- Feedback from staff and leaders
- Feedback from partners such as commissioners and safeguarding teams
- Observation of care
- Processes, including audits, policies and records
- Outcomes for people
Registration in outline
- Decide the regulated activities and service types you need
- Prepare a statement of purpose that matches what you will actually do
- Register a nominated individual and, where required, a registered manager
- Evidence premises, policies, insurance and financial viability
- Expect an interview focused on how you will run the service safely
Preparing well
The services that cope best keep evidence current all year: an audit calendar with owners, incidents and complaints reviewed monthly for trends, and a short improvement plan that a manager can talk through without notes.