Egovernance - less administration and more caring

We understand that governance is the bedrock of good care and that there will always be room for improvement. However, we also appreciate the challenge of keeping up with change. ElderWorld has the innovative expertise and experience to provide you with care management systems that will automatically update and trigger related internal policies and procedures every time there is a change in legislation.

Q What is governance?

In order to understand governance we must first understand compliance.

Q What is compliance?

Compliance is getting it right by adhering to regulations that set standards in a particular market to ensure that, for example, older people get the best possible health and social care.

Q Whose standards?

In the world of health and social care, legislation is set by the government and monitored and enforced by the regulator.  In England this is the Care Quality Commission, in Scotland it is the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and in Wales the Care and Social Services Inspectorate. These regulatory bodies monitors establishments against legislation. There is also a wealth of best practice from professional bodies such as the Royal College of Nursing. How these external standards are implemented will depend on internal standards, i.e., the standards of an individual establishment.

Q What are internal standards?

Internal standards outline the expectations that the establishment have of their staff. They may be based on external standards and/or may be related to operational requirements. Either way, they are part of compliance and ultimately part of governance.

Q How do staff know what these standards are and how to apply them?

Organisations will have internal policies and procedures that define how staff should work to comply with external standards. However, there are two major problems with this: first, policies and procedures are often difficult for the staff to access. Second, in a world of ever-changing regulation, it can be difficult for an organisation to keep policies and procedures up-to-date and in line with regulation and best practice.

Q How do managers know if the staff are working to the policies and procedures?

Most establishments have monitoring systems to record when for example, a resident in a care home falls or is experiencing pressure ulcers. They will also have a procedure set up to deal with complaints to ensure the problem is followed up and dealt with.

Q How do we move from compliance to governance?

Governance is a circular process. Improvement can be driven by using the information that already exists, identifying when compliance is not met and then introducing solutions.

Q How do we implement governance?

Most establishments have some of the systems that collect useable information. Linking these together will create a starting point for a governance system that can be developed over time. ElderWorld can help link together what you already have to produce meaningful and therefore useful governance data. We can also suggest systems that we know are ‘fit for purpose’ to fill the gaps. This will set you firmly on the road to a governance solution that is flexible and will meet both your internal needs as well as the needs of regulators.

Q How do we maintain governance?

Keeping up-to-date with the very latest changes in legislation is as important as setting up an effective system in the first place. We can work with you to maintain your policies and procedures to ensure your governance model is consistently effective.

Q How do we ensure effective staff usage?

Lots of organisations worry about staff using systems but there is no need. There are many ways to capture data ranging from direct input onto a computer and the use of digital pens, to scanning any form of document already in use. The key is to find the right input method, or methods, for your establishment.