Lessons Learned – How do we do better in the future!

I think we can all agree that since March the world of care has changed. As businesses we need a moment of reflection to enable us to understand what happened, how did we react, what worked and what did not. This is what is known as the ‘lesson learned’ moment, a critical part of the inspectorate’s mandate.

The purpose of a lessons learned culture is to ensure the same mistakes are never made again. It is a good idea to ask people in your team, what they think worked and where mistakes were made. You can do this with a quick questionnaire, it is great evidence for your inspection! Often you will find they mention things, you had not even thought of and it’s important you listen.

History has a nasty habit of repeating itself and as we approach the winter months, it is likely that the second wave will come. Think back to the early stages of the first wave, people panic bought toilet roll, are they likely to do this again? Do you have enough stock? What about your PPE stock, will the price rise over the next few months due to increased demand? If so, can you start buying more stock now in preparation? Staffing, Recruitment, Training, Visitors, Relative’s, Communication, Care Plan Reviews, Supervision, Appraisals, Testing, the list can go on and on but make no mistake, the inspection body will look for a first wave lessons learned, second wave, no excuse. This time we must be prepared.

CQC are focussing their inspections on two areas of the Key Lines of Enquiry, these being Safe & Well Led. One area I am repeatedly hearing from Managers who have recently been inspected is training. It appears that no leniency is being shown towards ‘not supplying staff with adequate training to keep people safe’. That is why, if you have not already, begin to embrace technology. I have set out a few questions for you to ask yourself in this area, so feel free to use the box below as a self-reflection.

The above table is just a baseline to get you started. If you have found the answer to some of the above is ‘no’, then you need to act. Right now, I am advising clients who have not switched to Virtual Classrooms to talk to us. Those not using an eLearning system, to start looking and for the face to face practical sessions to discuss with us, how we train people internally to deliver key subjects like, Moving & Handling, Basic Life Support and Fire Evacuation. This is all part of the ‘lessons learned approach’.

As always, CBAT is open for business with a clear aim, to support you! Give one of the team a call and we will be more than happy to advise on the best way forward for you. Afterall, this is a partnership.