All CQC registered services that have received an overall quality rating following inspection must by law, display their ratings, in order to comply with Regulation 20a of Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
However, despite existing guidance, some services still fail to meet this requirement and run the risk of regulatory action.
In order to clarify its expectations, the CQC has now issued updated guidance on how to display ratings both within the service’s premises and online. Read on to find out more about this new guidance and ensure a simple oversight doesn’t jeopardise your inspection outcome.
The new CQC guidance, available on its website, explains how and where your ratings should be displayed as well as providing sample posters to print off and an online widget to use on your website. It also explains what action CQC will take if you fail to display your ratings or your ratings are not clearly displayed and your fail to take appropriate action.
Take time to read this latest update in conjunction with our tips below and ensure you don’t run into problems when CQC visits.
Follow These 7 Easy Steps to Displaying Your Ratings Correctly
- How to Display: Your ratings must be clearly displayed within your home and on your website. You must use a suitable poster either at the main entrance to your home or in a place where as many people as possible, including service users, can see it and if you have more than one entrance or reception, you should display multiple copies.On your website, you must ensure your ratings are conspicuously displayed on a permanent, frequently visited page. The ratings should be easily reached using your website’s navigation system and be clear about which service they relate to, if you operate more than one service.
- Using the Right Format: Your posters must be clear and conspicuous, printed in colour and be A4 or larger. You can produce your own if you wish but a standard poster is available on the CQC website along with a downloadable widget which allows you to display your ratings on your website. If you choose to use your own posters, these will be reviewed by an inspector at your next inspection to ensure they meet the regulation.
- When to Display: Your ratings must be displayed on your premises and on your website no later that 21 days after CQC has published them, even if you have submitted a request for a review. If you are still awaiting the outcome of a review, you are permitted to add a note to your poster to this effect.
- Improvement Required: If you are rated as inadequate or requiring improvement, you can use the space provided on the poster to tell people how to find out more about the steps you are taking to address any problems. The CQC also allows you to display additional material next to your poster as long as it doesn’t detract from it.
- Celebrating Excellence: For services rated good or outstanding, the CQC provides additional graphics that can be added to letterheads and publicity materials. These do not replace the need to display your rating in the standard formats but are an excellent way of sharing the news of your success with others.