Supporting CCGs to guarantee quality in Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

How working collaboratively with CCGs in one region supported them to ensure their deferred assessments were of the highest quality.

Liaison Care.

Following the reintroduction of CHC on 1^st September 2020, CCGs were instructed by NHSEi to reinstate the national framework for CHC and restart their processes. They were also required to assess everyone who had been discharged from hospital during the period of suspension and were being funded through the COVID-19 emergency fund.

The expectation from NHSEi was that these cases, known as deferred assessments, would be completed before 31^st of March 2021 and there would be further financial support available to increase the capacity in CCGs to achieve this.

CCGs were quick to put plans together, with many of them seeking support from agency staff and consultancies to complete this work on their behalf.

As Liaison Care already work with over 70% of CCGs in England, we offered our support to CCGs to enable them in getting back to business as usual following the directive from NHSEi. As a result, we are now working with CCGs to deliver projects which will provide them with the capacity they need to allow them to complete their deferred assessments by the end of March.

One of these services is our Quality Reviews, which have been designed to review the deferred assessments at CCG level, that have been outsourced, to ensure that they are being delivered in compliance with the national framework and are of the highest standards.

The Quality Reviews were completed on a sample of the deferred assessments for each CCG in the region, who were then given the opportunity to submit cases to our team.

The process began with reviewing the completed DSTs and was followed by a virtual review and feedback session with both the CCG and Local Authority. Liaison Care’s team discussed any issues around documentation which required editing, and looked at how these should be addressed.

The reviews have had a positive impact where they mattered: supporting CCGs to identify and address the quality issues in their documentation. It has also allowed the CCGs to cascade the feedback to their existing workforce partner agencies and consultants, which will continue to make a positive impact on all future assessments.

The CCGs using the service reported that they found the experience positive, and how using the feedback provided helped them in making the agreed changes to the sample cases, and to make changes going forward.

The CHC Strategic and Clinical Director at Liaison Care, stated: “The programme was successful and had positive outcomes for all of the CCGs involved. For me personally, one of the key successes was the commitment by the CCGs who took part, to support the project by submitting data and dedicating their time to the review and feedback sessions. This is at a time when CHC teams are under unprecedented pressure to catch up on the deferred assessments that arose during the period of suspension, but also when CHC is under additional scrutiny and public criticism.”

To find out more about Liaison Care’s Quality Review service, please get in touch on [email protected]