Evidencing Quality In Care And Support Services
NCF Quality First reinforces the commitment of the National Care Forum to improve the quality of life for people receiving care and support.
The introduction of CQC ratings has improved awareness of the need for care and support services to be safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led. NCF Quality First, introduced in 2010, has long acknowledged the importance of quality in all areas of care and NCF members regularly use the framework to evidence attainment and to highlight training and awareness across their services.
With NCF members achieving 75% of services rated by CQC as ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’, this latest review goes some way to explaining how our members’ services are among the best in the country.
Over 60% of NCF member organisations have now adopted NCF Quality First as a means of ensuring quality improvement remains a priority. The Framework consists of 10 core elements and these core sections encompass 97 detailed elements specific to the provision of outstanding care and support.
Overall attainment is now recorded at 93.6% and we are pleased to report particularly high scores in ‘evidence based practice and learning’ across ‘HR development’ and in ‘governance, accountability and financial integrity’. The results positively show how staff and volunteers are valued and that services are safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led.
NCF Director Sharon Blackburn CBE said:
“The Quality First framework works with existing quality assurance systems and members can use the NCF resources alongside their own tools and systems to evidence their journey in continuous quality improvement. We are delighted that the resources are proving beneficial to our members and welcome comments for our next review.”
The NCF Quality First logo is a recognised mark of quality and a sign for the public and regulators to have confidence and trust in the quality of care provision.
