Having attended the Health Forum on Priorities of the CQC, it struck me that within a room of nearly 100 people; every one of us had the same vision and desire of having a high quality healthcare system. I’m sure the vast majority of us have the same vision: so why are we all not totally getting this right?! With regards to what is expected from the Care Quality Commission during their inspections, the cynic in me wants to say “we have heard this all before: openness; transparency; leadership; quality”. All words that reflect the manner in which our healthcare system should and can operate. I say ‘can’ due to the evidence of outstanding and good ratings some service providers have already achieved. However, for some reason, at this forum, I found myself listening very attentively and drawing a picture of how service providers need to view the ‘business’ they operate.
The fact that 50% of re-inspections had shown an improved rating may lead to the conclusion that there may be a level of uncertainty as to what was initially expected by the regulators.
To the leaders and managers providing a healthcare service, the best way of putting this: Run your healthcare service like it’s your own business!
Now we all know that healthcare and business can be a rather controversial combination. But, bearing in mind that nearly half the panel at the forum have background experience in the business world, I thinking it’s certainly worth considering. However, for argument sake, let us oversimplify this business analogy and remove the financial constraints and incentives that may be involved. As with everything of quality, ‘what you put in is what you get out!’ So the values, qualities, dedication and effort you would put into your business would certainly deliver the high quality outcome expected of you. The core service itself should always include the principles of person-centred care as being safe, effective and caring to the needs of the service user. The duty of any health care professional should always start with safety first. Service users do not expect harm to come to them so always risk assess your service and take (and document) steps to prevent harm.
Develop your teamYour people within your organisation make up and determine the way your business is going to run. Leadership within any business should run from the top end and throughout. At the top end (and as a result of our recent health inquiries and reviews), one won’t be blamed for thinking there may be an element of uncertainty (and possibly fear) as to how to interpret, or address, employment and/or human resource issues such as low performance or employees who are not conforming to the company’s values and standards. My advice: Know your employees rights but (as a manager of a healthcare service), know yours too; keep on top of your employees’ performance reviews; train and offer support to employees who you have identified as needing assistance; ensure staff are being competency assessed; Keep a culture of learning within your business and, if possible, allow for a mentor system so staff know where or to whom they can refer if there are issues with regards to them carrying out their job role effectively. But remember, leadership is not all about titles or seniority and it does not only refer to management. Leadership can be defined as ‘the process of social influence, which maximises the efforts of others to meet the achievement of a common goal’.[1] By having the right skill mix and identifying, developing and utilising the leaders within your team, the goals you have set out will not only be achievable but your standards of service provision would no doubt be raised to higher level.
Review feedback “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”[2] Conducting regular self audits on the service you provide by reviewing service user feedback from questionnaires, complaints and incidents will help identify non-conformities and possible gaps within your business procedures. Consider doing a service process audit and walk through the service you provide and see the manner in which you operate through the eyes of the service user. Having a dedicated quality team within your business may be an option but exercise vigilance and avoid a blame and negative critique culture from developing. Demoralising the staff will certainly negate your team development efforts.
The quality and standards you provide within your business is dependent upon every member of your team. So empowering your staff to ‘own’ their role and understand their function, accountabilities and consequence of non-compliance will not only raise the bar but also make for an all rounded better work environment. It is a very rare circumstance where people would operate within a business to see it fail. But as with anything in life, ‘when you know better, you do better!’[3]
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[1]www.forbes.com/sites/what-is-leadership , last accessed 20.01.2016
[2] Bill Gates
[3] Maya Angelou
Written by Puveshni Pillay