Quality Checking the gateway to taking control of our lives Dr THOMAS DOUKAS
About Choice Support? Choice Support is a leading social care charity providing services to people with a wide range of support needs throughout much of England. Established in 1984, we aim to continuously improve the quality of our services by listening to what people want. We work directly with people and their families to shape support that truly meets their needs.
What do we do? Choice Support offers a wide range of support services across the country including help to live in your own home live with a family live independently with little support find voluntary or paid work
Quality Checking @ Choice Support a brief history 2007-2008 Training of the first Quality Checkers & Supporters by Skills For People 2008-2010 additional training for Quality Checkers 2011 Quality Checkers work influenced Choice Support winning the CQC Acting Together Contract 2014 Quality Checkers work influenced Choice Support winning an Innovation Fund
AUDITING The Quality Checkers Team is part of the Quality Assurance Team and the internal AUDIT process at Choice Support QUALITY DEPARTMENT AUDIT TEAM
How does the process work? Quality Checkers work in small teams to make quality checks 1 or 2 Quality Checkers and 1 Supporter They use questionnaires, home visits and talk with people. They talk to the person themselves, their close friends and relatives, to find out how good someone s housing and support is and how it could be better
Inclusive Research Question How QC is different from professional led approaches (such as audits) and how such tool empowers the individual.
Research Methodology PART 1 Interviews-direct quotes of Quality Checkers Survey
For me it s about appreciating the abilities I have got from living independently. I can see myself before I came to Independent Living. I have seen people who are not encouraged to be independent, like not being supported & involved in their own cooking. I know how my life has changed from being well supported to be more independent. Its not good if people are not involved in individual decisions about their lives. It s not right to have a blanket decision made for a group of people who may be living in the same house.
We learn a lot ourselves in the job. The pay's not bad either. But seriously, though, it feels good to know that we are making a difference in making things better for people!
In one service, staff said all service users had to be in bed by eight thirty because the sleep-in staff came on duty and the afternoon staff went home. The staff rota is now written around the needs and wishes of the people receiving the service.
Recently on a quality check we were visiting someone at their home and they were telling us about lack of privacy. At one stage a member of staff walked into the lounge where we were talking privately with the person and she just came and sat on the coffee table. We kindly asked her to leave.
Research Methodology PART 2 Survey evaluation of the impact of the checks to the providers Qualitative interviews of the people and their supporters in the services we visited
SURVEY Impact of Quality Checks on services We asked the following questions: 1. Do you feel this quality check has had an impact on the residents? 2. How would you rate the impact of the Quality Check on a scale from 0-10
Comments from service users about the Quality Checkers visits and report Very relaxing. I met 3 people and I was comfortable. They were efficient. You could understand the questions. We spoke for 20 minutes. I didn t mind it. Friendly souls. Easy to get on with them.
Comments from service users about the Quality Checkers visits and report It went OK. Very easy to speak. They came to the house and Angie (Support Worker) was there. There might be something they could do better but I enjoyed it. They were talkative and they listened. We enjoyed them. They were very polite. It was nice to see friendly faces. I can t read and write. (The report) was too much for disabled to take in. Too many big words.
Comments from service users about the Quality Checkers visits and report It was fine. OK. I spoke to Simona, Sanae, Rob, and Lorna. It didn t matter to me if they were disabled They were or very not. That friendly doesn t and sat matter. and I ve spoke. not It taken was the a time good to thing. read I the liked report. having It s youngsters quite wordy. I m used to reports around like this for a but visit. this one takes a (time) commitment (to read). If it was my job to read it, I d read it. But.
Comments from service users about the Quality Checkers visits and report We met at Burger King. One of the things I always do is ask for ID. They introduced themselves. Very good. Plain English. No jargon. They were very friendly and sat and spoke. It was a good thing. I liked having youngsters around for a visit. I was here when they came. I spoke to Tanisha. It was useful. They really made us happy and we really interacted together and I d love to see them again.
Comments from managers and staff about the Quality Checkers visits and report I welcomed the Quality Check; having independent people and all the positive and constructive comments. We have to do audits for the local authority and monitoring for the commissioners. It s good to have something to show to the Trustees It s a valid report. It s not wrong. They do have a point. It s good when someone else asks questions. It makes a difference. If we do it (ask questions to service users) they think we re being nosy. The one-to-one style of interacting worked well
Comments from managers and staff about the Quality Checkers visits and report Overall I thought the report was good. It was fair in its comments and the interviewers had obviously shown a real interest in the people they were meeting. As a snapshot of a day in the life of the organisation; I found it useful and interesting. I don t get to spend as much time as I would like to working directly in the services so really welcome an objective view of how things are.
Comments from managers and staff about the Quality Checkers visits and report The written report was very helpful and there was nothing negative to say. It was constructive and gave clear suggestions. We will formulate an Action Plan. The tone of the report was just right. It hit the right tone. No one felt criticised and the observations were reasonable.
Comments from managers and staff about the Quality Checkers visits and report The report could be shorter and sharper with bullet points, quotes, and not so repetitive. They were lovely. Thorough doing their research, very observant. They were empathetic, gentle with clients not intrusive.
Comments from managers and staff about the Quality Checkers visits and report The report is invaluable as it is external. We feel honoured that you have chosen us. Our founder Sarah doesn t let us get complacent. From the initial contact (with the Quality Checkers) there were clear e-mails. They were really lovely and felt right since we re a user-led organisation.
Quality Checking is different because the quality checks are done by people with disabilities who use their own experience and knowledge of what makes good support. This means they know what to look for, and people often tell them lots about their lives. Quality checking leads to open and transparent service delivery, offers new safeguards and raises quality.
Conclusion Quality Checking empowers Quality Checkers to develop their skills and grow in confidence in the job market. It also empowers disabled people to be in control of their lives by having the quality of their support checked. As such, Quality Checking is distinctive from professional led approaches and puts the individual at the centre of their life.
The Association of Quality Checkers In June we ve launched