18 CARE HOME PROFESSIONAL | August 2019
IN THE LOOP KATE TERRONI, CQC CHIEF INSPECTOR OF ADULT SOCIAL CARE
KATE TERRONI, THE CARE QUALITY
COMMISSION’S (CQC) CHIEF INSPECTOR
OF ADULT SOCIAL CARE, DISCUSSES HOW
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CAN ENHANCE
THE QUALITY OF CARE
IN THE LOOP
W
elcome to my second column for Care Home
Professional and thank you to all those who
have got in touch since reading my first column. In
my first column I wrote about my three priorities, one
of which is about enabling and encouraging innovation within the care
sector and supporting the impact that emerging technologies can have on
enhancing the quality of people’s care.
With the publication of our Driving improvement through technologyi
resource; and the news that the NHS will soon be teaming up with Amazon
to allow people to access health information through an AI-powered voice
assistant (Alexa) - now seems like the perfect time to discuss the role that
innovation and technology can, and indeed will, play in improving care
and providing real solutions to the issues facing the whole of the adult
social care sector.
The Driving Improvement resource
contains some excellent examples
of where technology is enhancing
people’s lives.
Amongst the examples given is a
residential home that is using a secure
web-based tool, accessed via a tablet,
which contains information about the
people receiving care and provides
‘interaction triggers’, such as personal
photos, music, videos and stories, all
about that person’s life. This gives care
staff meaningful prompts to engage
with the person, increases mental
stimulation and has supported the
development of relationships between
people who receive services and their
staff. I’m very keen that we at the CQC,
along with providers and commissioners
of care, look at these examples of
innovative working to understand the
effectiveness of new practices, and how
they can be shared more widely for the
benefit of more people.
Of course, innovating in social care is
different to innovating in other sectors,
as everything that we do impacts on the
quality of people’s care and, therefore,
innovation must always be mindful of
people’s safety, dignity and privacy.
I am very clear that we must embrace
new and innovative practice. We
cannot stand in the way of digital and
technological development; regulation
must keep pace with new advancements
and constantly encourage progression
- always keeping in mind how different
and inventive ways of doing things can
ultimately lead to better, high-quality,
person-centred care.
I am also very clear that in exploring
such technology and innovation we are
in no way seeking to substitute the role
of our care and support workforce. In
fact, I strongly believe that technology
can greatly improve the experience for
staff as well as people receiving services,
allowing them to spend less time on
paperwork and; instead enabling them
to focus more of their time on doing what
they do best – delivering compassionate
and person-centred care.
Many thanks, Kate.
Source: iDriving improvement through
technology, https:// bit.ly/2GeWtcZ
Kate Terroni