Worcestershire CCG commissions quality monitoring tool

Published: 18-Jun-2014

Care Homes Quality Dashboard to monitor, manage and improve standards of care


Nursing homes throughout Worcestershire are set to benefit from the rollout of a Care Homes Quality Dashboard, developed by NHS Arden Commissioning Support to monitor, manage and improve standards of care.

With public confidence shaken by national media coverage of abuse of vulnerable people in nursing homes, the Care Homes Quality Dashboard has been designed to improve the monitoring of patient quality and safety standards in care settings.

Working in partnership with Wyre Forest Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG and South Worcestershire CCG, NHS Arden Commissioning Support has been appointed to roll out its unique web-based system to provide enhanced quality monitoring and guidance to 58 nursing homes across Worcestershire.

Already in use successfully across care homes in Coventry and Warwickshire, the dashboard is a self-assessment tool that can be completed by care providers in any setting. It provides assurance on a range of local and national clinical key performance indicators, such as infection control, falls, pressure ulcers and hospital admissions. It also includes a confidential ‘Serious Incidents’ and a ‘Never Events’ reporting portal, where providers can alert the local patient safety team of an incident in their home.

Alongside the dashboard, nursing homes will also gain access to a learning resource website known as the Care Homes Portal. A team of clinical experts has created specific advice and guidance materials, such as what do to in case of an infection outbreak and posters on the management of patients with a pressure ulcer. Providers can also access the latest policies and guidance on possible areas of development to help drive quality improvement.

Sheila Peacock, head of quality at NHS Arden Commissioning Support, said: “We are extremely pleased to roll out the Care Homes Dashboard in Worcestershire. The enhanced quality monitoring assessments will deliver savings in time and resources that will help nursing homes to improve the quality of care they provide.”

Rachael Skinner, quality assurance manager at NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG and NHS Wyre Forest CCG, said: “The Care Homes Dashboard has the potential to significantly strengthen assurance that nursing homes are delivering high-quality and safe care.”

Lisa Levy, deputy executive nurse/head of quality at South Worcestershire CCG, added: “As engagement with, and use of, the tool develops it will provide valuable intelligence that may be used to contribute toward better-informed strategic decisions and planning, based on the needs of our local population and local providers”

The project, led by NHS Arden’s quality monitoring officer, Daniel Farr, has already started, with the system expected to go live in nursing homes within Worcestershire by July.

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