We have published the new quality frameworks for support services (care at home, including supported living models of support). It reflects Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards, which are rights-based, person-led and outcome-focused.

The primary purpose of the framework is to support services to self-evaluate their own performance. It will also be used by our inspectors to provide independent assurance about the quality of care and support. By setting out what we expect to see in high-quality care and support provision, it can help support improvement too.

The framework will help us answer key questions about the difference that care is making to people who experience care and the quality and effectiveness of the elements that contribute to those differences.  

We have engaged with providers, people who experience care and our inspectors about the framework.   We also completed test inspections across a range of different services that came under these registrations types to ensure the framework is suitable in practice for the wide variety of services that we regulate.

As a result of the pandemic, have added an additional key question to the framework.  Key Question 7 focuses on ‘how good is our care and support during the Covid-19 pandemic?’.  We have consulted with a range of providers over this additional key question through email consultation and small virtual focus groups.

You can download the framework here.