How to achieve CQC's 'Outstanding' award: 'Don't be afraid to get things wrong'

"Achieving an 'Outstanding' rating isn’t a tick box exercise and there’s no magic formula, it’s about the people and bringing passion to the care you deliver," says Christine Asbury, the chief executive of WCS Care Group Ltd, the first care provider in England to have five homes recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

"It’s about helping to create little moments in daily life that make the biggest difference: the laughter over the dinner table, feeling the fresh air on your face while spending quality time outdoors, doing the things you’ve always done and of course trying new experiences."

Ms Asbury joined the Warwickshire-based charity in 2012 and has been recognised for 'making a difference' after winning a national award at a prestigious ceremony that highlights innovation and care excellence in the not-for-profit care and support sector.

Under her leadership, and with less than one per cent of care homes rated 'Outstanding' as a national average, WCS Care has become the first care home group in England to have five homes achieve the highest rating from the CQC and has begun a significant investment, redevelopment and new build programme across its homes.

'It’s about helping to create little moments in daily life that make the biggest difference'

However, achieving five ‘Outstanding’ ratings from the regulatory body does not come easy.

"Of course, there are lots of times when we don’t get things right at first," Ms Asbury revealed, "so we keep trying until it’s working for our residents."

She introduced four key values which are the bedrock of daily life at the charity – 'play', 'be there', 'make someone’s day' and 'choose your attitude', training each of the 700-plus team members in these fundamental principles herself.

It is these core values, which Ms Asbury believes, empower people living in the homes (and the staff who work there) to "have a day well lived."

"The driver for us is our focus on ensuring that the people who live in our care homes have the opportunity for a day well lived," she said.

"We also work hard to ensure that each home has its own personality. It’s the people and our culture that make a home an ‘Outstanding’ one, rather than the building itself."

Achieving the CQC’s 'Outstanding' rating:

The five care homes are situated in Rugby, Nuneaton and Kenilworth and support older people, those living with dementia and those living physical disabilities and long-term health conditions. They share ten common attributes:

• Preparation – they make sure every manager is fluent in the Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs)

• Pride and confidence – they ensure managers look forward to their inspection as an opportunity to showcase their home

• Shared responsibility – managers are supported on the day of the inspection to help them remember what they wanted to show the inspector and to help locate all the relevant evidence

• Leadership – they talk, train and validate leadership at all levels

• Creativity and innovation – they seek ways to improve the lives of residents

• Resilience – they are willing to try things and change what isn’t working. Failing gives them the opportunity to get it right

• People – they ensure the staff (known as the 'real magic') are passionate, committed, value driven and caring

• Opportunities – they grow a strong set of junior managers who are given an opportunity to try, learn, to get things wrong and to be successful

• Procedures – they have a strong and well understood set of systems and processes in place that are consistent across each home

• Commitment – 'The standard you walk past is the standard you accept' – they ensure staff know that they are responsible for their own behaviour and that of staff around them.

'Every day is a day well lived for residents'

Jason Saunders, who has lived at Newlands in Kenilworth – the most recent WCS Care home to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating for over ten years, said: "Newlands is an Outstanding place to live because it is my home.

"I’m able to live my life how I want to and do the things I want to do – anything from working in the garden to fixing a bike or going to the pub with friends.

"The team here are great and are very supportive – they help make it a fun, caring place to live and I’m really pleased that my home has been recognised."

Lynn Randall, home manager at WCS Care’s Mill Green home in Rugby, added: "Our values and approach to care give us the freedom to do whatever we need to do to ensure every day is well lived for residents.

"It means that every home feels like a home – a place where people living here are in charge and we’re simply supporting people however they need us.

"We’re encouraged to try out new ideas – as long as they are for the benefit of residents – and if things don’t work first time, we keep trying until they do."

'Don’t be afraid to get things wrong'

In each WCS Care home, teams are found to go the "extra mile" to provide the highest quality care.

"However, we don’t rest on our laurels,” said Ms Asbury “we’re always keen to push the boundaries of innovation and find new ways of responding to the ambitions of residents."

While sufficient resources, a clear ethos and strong leadership are key fundamentals that will ensure quality, Ms Asbury’s main advice is to “focus on your values and culture; making sure every decision is one that improves the experience for residents.

"Be confident and creative about the care you want to provide and don’t be afraid to get things wrong. Then prepare for your inspection with pride, ready to evidence all the great things that are going on in your home."

About WCS Care

WCS Care is a Kenilworth-based not-for-profit company with charity status that provides care and support for older people and people with disabilities. It provides care, respite, and specialist dementia care for older people in ten homes across Warwickshire.

WCS Care also has two homes for people with physical disabilities or long-term conditions offering long and short-term residential care, rehabilitation, and respite care.

click here for more details or to contact WCS Care Group Ltd