Navigating Health and Social Care Consultancy
Specialist consultancy services for health and social care sector organisations who are the beginning of their journey and beyond. With over a decade in HR and business development, let us help you thrive.
Who is Nicki?
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Welcome! I'm Nicki, your dedicated Health & Social Care Consultant and Advisor based in Dorset,
I bring over a decade of hands-on experience to help providers like you simplify CQC compliance (including the new Single Assessment Framework), navigate HR challenges, streamline operations, and achieve sustainable growth. Let's work together to build a confident, compliant, and thriving care service.
Why choose the services I offer?
A deep dive into the guidance and solution
The health and social care landscape is transforming at an unprecedented pace. We're witnessing a significant positive shift towards healthcare transformation. With the introduction of AI and rapid technological advancements, many providers are struggling to adapt and innovate. Compounding this, budget cuts amid the cost of living crisis are directly impacting your staff, affecting morale, retention, and ultimately, the quality of care.
I understand these challenges intimately. My consultancy isn't just about ticking boxes; it's about providing practical, empathetic, and future-focused solutions tailored to your unique service. What sets me apart is a blend of over a decade's hands-on experience in most facets of woriking in health and social care, combined with an unwavering commitment to bridging the gap between current pressures and future success. I don't just offer advice; I equip you with the tools and confidence to thrive in this evolving environment.
How I Help Your Care Service Succeed:
- CQC Confidence: Master the new Single Assessment Framework, ensuring your service is not just compliant, but confidently excels.
- Ratings Recovery: Strategic, hands-on support to swiftly improve CQC ratings and navigate complex regulatory pressures.
- Sponsorship Licence Safeguard: Robust guidance to protect your Home Office sponsorship licence and secure your international workforce.
- Operational & HR Foundation: Build seamless, compliant HR and administrative systems, freeing you to focus on care.
- Culture & Performance Catalyst: Cultivate a positive, high-performing team environment that boosts morale and retention, crucial in today's economic climate.
- Growth & Governance Accelerator: Develop clear strategies for sustainable growth, ensuring strong foundations for your expanding service.
CQC Inspection Preparation
- Comprehensive CQC Mock Assessment & Audit: A full simulation mirroring CQC's Single Assessment Framework methodology, focusing on "I statements" and evidence categories.
- Detailed Action Plan & Remediation Strategy: A clear, prioritized roadmap to address identified gaps and strengthen compliance against the new framework.
- Policy & Procedure Review (Single Assessment Framework Alignment): Ensuring your existing documents meet and exceed the CQC's current assessment expectations.
- Registered Manager & Staff Interview Coaching: Practical preparation for key individual assessments, including the "fit person" interview, and role-playing scenarios for staff, providing constructive feedback on responses.
- "Evidence Portfolio" Templates: Structured templates for collating evidence across the CQC's four evidence categories (People's Experience, Feedback from Staff/Leaders, Observation, Processes & Records), including a "Mock Evidence Review" session.
- Ongoing Advice & Support (Pre-Assessment): Dedicated email and phone support leading up to your actual assessment.
- Skills for Care Integration: We link directly to Skills for Care's Workforce Development Fund to help fund staff training that impacts "Safe" and "Effective" Quality Statements. We also highlight Skills for Care's Registered Manager resources and networks for ongoing support and show how meeting Manager Induction Standards (MIS) aligns with the 'Well-led' Quality Statement.
- Information Systems for Automation (for newly registered/small teams): Guidance on selecting and integrating Care Management Systems (CMS) like Nursebuddy, Birdie etc for up-to-date, compliant policy libraries.
Sponsorship Licence Recovery
Expert guidance for recovering your Home Office sponsorship licence.
- Sponsorship Licence Remediation Plan: A clear, step-by-step plan to address issues leading to licence loss or risk.
- Comprehensive HR & Right-to-Work Compliance Audit: In-depth review of recruitment, onboarding, and ongoing HR processes for adherence to Home Office requirements, using a "Home Office Compliance Audit" tool.
- Policy & SOP Development (Immigration Focus): Creation or refinement of policies to ensure robust sponsorship management, including template letters/forms for reporting changes.
- Reapplication Assistance & Guidance: Support through the complex reapplication process.
- Staff Training on Compliance: Ensuring your team understands and follows immigration rules.
- "Right-to-Work Checklist & Scenario Guide": Detailed, step-by-step guides for different right-to-work scenarios with common pitfalls highlighted.
- "Pre-Home Office Visit" Checklist & Mock Interview: Comprehensive preparation, including simulated compliance visits and mock interviews for key personnel.
- Skills for Care Integration: We signpost to Skills for Care's guidance for ethical practices. We also emphasize Skills for Care's resources for onboarding new staff for robust induction and training of internationally recruited staff.
- Information Systems for Automation (for newly registered/small teams): Guidance on HR Information Systems (HRIS). Advice on secure cloud-based document management systems.
HR Systems Streamlining
Optimizing HR systems for improved efficiency and staff retention.
Build a strong, compliant foundation for your service's growth without the immediate overhead of full-time internal staff.
- Interim HR Management: Staff onboarding/offboarding, safe recruitment processes, and right-to-work checks.
- Essential HR Toolkit Setup: Employee records, customisable handbooks, contracts, supervision & appraisal templates, provided via a "HR & Admin Blueprint Builder."
- Admin Systems Design & Implementation: GDPR-compliant filing, rota, holiday, and sickness tracking, digital or paper-based setup, including a "Quick Start Guide" for chosen systems.
- Core Policy & SOP Drafting: Development of foundational operational policies.
- Initial Training for Key Staff: Equipping your team to manage new systems and processes effectively.
- Skills for Care Integration: We help clients implement the Care Certificate Workbook and Assessment Framework for new staff and link initial training plans to Skills for Care's Common Induction Standards and ongoing CPD resources.
- Information Systems for Automation (for newly registered/small teams):
Operational Transformation
Transforming operations for better service delivery and outcomes.
Turn your workplace culture into one where staff feel supported, valued, and heard, leading to improved retention and service quality.
- Workplace Culture Assessment: Identifying root causes of low morale and high turnover.
- Retention Strategy Development: Tailored plans to attract, engage, and retain talent
- Effective 1-1s & Supervision Framework: Training materials and workshops for managers on conducting meaningful 1-1s and appraisals, focusing on coaching, goal setting, and development.
- Onboarding & Exit Interview Optimisation: Turning these processes into powerful feedback and retention tools.
- Leadership Coaching (Staff Engagement Focus): Empowering managers to build supportive and high-performing teams.
- Skills for Care Integration: We link to Skills for Care's Workforce Wellbeing Resource Finder and Learning & Development Hub to support staff wellbeing and professional growth. We also reference the Leadership Qualities Framework (LQF) for manager development to promote effective leadership behaviours.
- Information Systems for Automation (for newly registered/small teams): Recommendations for Performance Management & Feedback Platforms
Explore more of our Services in the services offered tab.
Get in Touch
E-mail: admin@guidedsolutions.com
Accessible Areas for in person visits: Hampshire, Dorset and Somerset
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.