quality mark: why you need the quality mark

everything you need to demonstrate the quality and value of micro-providers

Care and support choices are increasingly being made by people and not authorities. People who use services as well as commissioners need a method of assessing quality and value, and information to make comparisons between services when making purchasing choices.

judging quality and making comparisons between services

Registration with the CQC (Care Quality Commission) is the main way in which traditional care providers demonstrate their safety and quality. However, evidence from Community Catalysts shows that the majority of emerging micro-enterprises fall outside current regulatory and legislative frameworks for care and support services, and need to find other ways to show they provide a safe, high quality service. Micro-providers who are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have concerns that the regulatory approach does not allow them to show the real quality of their service. Other accreditation systems are unsuitable for many micro-entrepreneurs, either because they are designed for much larger or very traditional providers, or because they have a focus on a particular sector or activity e.g. PQASSO for the third sector and CQC regulation for services providing personal care.

demonstrating the quality and value of the service you offer

Micro-providers are eager to show the high standards of care and support they give. It is important that all providers can demonstrate the quality and value of the services that they offer. Councils and other organisations need ways of accrediting providers. Councils usually have their own preferred supplier accreditation process, but these are usually aimed at traditional services, or are linked to council contracts. Many ask for information that cannot be supplied by small providers.

The Quality Mark offers a sensible middle way between inflexible quality assurance systems aimed at large traditional providers and minimal or no quality requirements.

See our case study:
> Choice, Support and Transport (CST)

View our video to hear Helen Ramsden talk about the Quality Mark.

For more information contact us on 01423 790126.

related links
> quality mark: how it was developed
> quality mark manual