CQC Compliance Quality Assurance
Care & Client Management

What is it?

The National Minimum Standards are a set of requirements created to formalise at a national level, criteria to ensure service providers have appropriate safeguards and quality assurance arrangements.

The National Minimum Standards are published in accordance with the Care Standards Act 2000 and are issued for a range of health service providers, including:

- Children's Homes
- Fostering Services
- Boarding Schools
- Care Homes for Adults
- Domiciliary Care
- Residential Special Schools
- Care Homes for Older People

What does it do?

These requirements formed the criteria against which the NCSC (National Care Standards Commission) would determine whether providers meet the needs, and secure the welfare and social inclusion, of the people who use them.

Please Note: the NCSC was superseded by the Care Quality Commission in 2009, and the Care Standards Act superseded by the Health and Social Care Act.

The CSCI's National Minimum Standards focussed on achievable outcomes for service users, and the impact on the individual of the facilities and services provided. The standards are grouped under the broad topic areas below, which highlight aspects of individuals' lives identified as most important to service users. Note that the standards vary slightly depending on the type of service, so this list is only intended as a summary.

- Service-user choice;
- health and personal care;
- daily life and social activities;
- complaints and protection;
- environment;
- staffing;
- management & administration.

While broad in scope, these standards acknowledge the unique and complex needs of individuals and the additional specific knowledge, skills, and facilities needed in order for a care provider to deliver an individually tailored and comprehensive service.

How does the QCS Care Management System fit it?

The QCS system is designed to hand-hold the user through a set of highly compliant processes and help them achieve good quality and highly personalised outcomes.

The QCS Care Management System is generally recognised as one of the best available, being up to the job, but easy to use, and most importantly it encourages users to promote personalisation. Developed with the Care Standards Act (and later policy developments) in mind, and containing all the assessment, planning, recording and review policies & procedures required to lead staff through best practice processes.