Falkirk HSCP chosen to test new inspection approach
The Care Inspectorate has selected the Care and Support at Home Service delivered by Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership to test a new inspection approach.
The test of change involves integrating strategic and regulatory approaches to inspection. It will help identify how commissioning processes in the Falkirk area are supporting positive outcomes for people who experience care and their carers.
The test has now begun in Falkirk, with work underway to consider the question:
“How effectively are Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership’s commissioning arrangements contributing to good outcomes for people and carers through care at home services?”
The key elements of the Inspectorate’s test of change are:
- gathering information on Falkirk’s care at home activities from a range of sources. These include performance data from the Partnership, the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland.
- asking the Partnership to provide a self-evaluation or ‘position statement’ on how it views its own performance along with supporting documents.
- conducting electronic surveys about the Partnership’s activity. Surveys will be issued to staff working in care at home services and to local care at home provider organisations.
- asking all inspected regulated care at home services across Scotland to respond to a set of standard questions relating to commissioning arrangements.
- reading a sample of social work/social care records of people receiving support from Falkirk Council and other locally commissioned care at home service providers.
- speaking with people accessing care at home services about their experience of the Partnership’s services.
- undertaking interviews and focus groups with managers and staff working for care at home organisations in Falkirk.
- undertaking interviews and focus groups with managers and staff working for the Partnership.
The Inspectorate expects to publish a report in September 2025, evaluating how effective Falkirk’s commissioning arrangements are in supporting positive outcomes for people. Following this, the Care Inspectorate will conduct an evaluation of its ‘test of change’ to determine future work.
Staff working in Falkirk Council and external provider services should look out for the staff survey, which will be open from 6 – 26 May. A provider survey will also be open between 9 – 30 June to gather responses from local provider organisations.
Contact information
Colleagues can contact falkirkcareathomeinspection@falkirk.gov.uk for any queries about the inspection process.