CQC campaign encourages people to share care experiences

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a new campaign to encourage people whose voices are often marginalised to share their care experiences in order to help services improve.

People from seldom heard communities are being urged to share their experiences of care in order to drive improvements and tackle inequalitiesBritain’s care watchdog says it knows that people “whose voices are seldom heard” are also often more likely to experience poorer care.

Their Share for better care campaign aims to support the voices of these people and tackle such inequalities. They say that feedback about health and care services is “valuable to us as it helps us see where and how services can improve.”

CQC seeks feedback on care experiences from seldom-heard communities

They particularly want to collect feedback on care experiences from people in seldom-heard communities, including:

  • Minority ethnic communities
  • Lower-income communities
  • Autistic people and people with a learning disability
  • Disabled people with physical or sensory impairments

Sharing feedback on care experiences can help to boost staff morale and highlight best practiceTheir message is clear: “Feedback can play an important part in helping health and care leaders identify safety issues. It can also allow us to share good practice and help boost staff morale.”

The CQC has partnered with Healthwatch England to lead the campaign, and they are also working with other organisations such as the Race Equality Foundation, National Dignity Council, Royal Association for Deaf People, National Voices, Challenging Behaviour Foundation, Patients Association, Voiceability and Disability Rights UK.

CQC asks charities to promote benefits of sharing care experiences

As well as calling upon individuals using care services to share their experiences, they are also calling for organisations and charities that can help them to promote the benefit of providing feedback to do so.

The care watchdog has provided a campaign toolkit full of materials for organisations to use in highlighting the importance of giving feedback. Organisations and charities are urged to focus their efforts on people who are more likely to experience inequalities in health and care access, experiences and outcomes.

People can also join in the campaign on social media using the hashtag #ShareForBetterCare.

Individuals can give their feedback on health and care services online at the CQC’s website.

Quality training for the delivery of quality care services

Services care deeply about people's experiences of careFirst Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider. They deliver over 7,000 courses each year in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, food hygiene, mental health, health and social care and more.

Their health and social care range includes Moving and AssistingPerson Centred CareDuty of CareSafeguarding Adults and many more.

They are endorsed by Skills for Care for their classroom, webinar and e-learning training provision for adult social care organisations.

A trainer from FRT says:

“We know from the hundreds of health and social care organisations that we work with across the country that they care deeply about providing high quality care and support to those who need it.

“Feedback must always be welcomed to help monitor this quality and make improvements whenever needed – especially to improve outcomes for those who have historically experienced inequalities in care.”

For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.