1. The inspection process1 1 1

2. The focus of inspections
Our inspections will check you meet national standards.
The focus is on the experience of people when they receive care.
Our staff assess information about services to decide which standards to look at during an inspection.
Inspectors will spend time talking to patients and staff to check their findings. 2 2 2 2 2

3. Before an inspection
An inspector will call 48 hours before a scheduled or themed inspection.
Responsive inspections, where we have concerns about a service or the care of patients, are likely to be unannounced.
Make sure notifications are up to date so we understand your service properly.
Have information available to help you demonstrate your compliance.
Before we arrive you may want to consider:
A suitable room or area to be used temporarily.
A member of staff to accompany and introduce the inspector to staff and patients.
How to explain to staff and patients about the inspection.
How to contact the registered manager if they are not available.
How you can continue with your usual activities during our inspection without disrupting care. 3 3 3 3 3

4. When we arrive
We will show identification and ask to speak to the registered person or nominated individual.
We will tell you if our inspection is scheduled, themed or responsive, and which standards we will be inspecting.
We will usually give you some time to organise yourselves after we arrive. However, we may need to start straight away if we have specific concerns. 4 4 4

5. During the inspection
We will speak to patients, carers and relatives to help us understand people’s experiences.
We will speak with members of your staff of all levels to ensure they understand their role in providing good outcomes for people.
We may look at ‘pathway tracking’ – where we follow a person’s route through the service and get their views on it.
We won’t normally spend a lot of time looking at paperwork.
Sometimes it may not be appropriate to speak to people using the service. Here we may ask you for information about how you gather feedback, and ask to see it. 5 5 5 5 5

6. The end of the inspection
We may ask you for additional information to confirm what we’ve found – we’ll need it from you within 48 hour.
The inspector normally gives feedback at the end of the visit.
We will usually send you a copy of your inspection report within 10 working days of our visit.
You’ll have the chance to send back your comments.
A copy of the report will then be published on your provider page of the CQC website along with a summary of the findings. 6 6 6 6 6

7. Next steps and more info
If you are not meeting the standards we will set either compliance or enforcement actions.
We use these actions in a proportionate way, considering the effect on the public and those who use services
More details can be found in the Enforcement Policy – available on the CQC website.
For more information: 7 7 7 7 7