A week in the life of a care home Quality and Compliance Manager: using digital in Social Care part 1
My name is Amanda Rae, and I am a Registered General Nurse (always and forever), a Queen's Nurse - for which I am so very proud and honoured - and also a Personalised Care Institute Ambassador. After all, everyone wants to be cared for in a way that we choose and a place where we feel safe and able to have a voice.
As well as being a nurse, I am a fully qualified Human Resources (HR) practitioner, a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Oh, and currently, I am mentoring 2 NHS members of staff from different trusts who are working their way through project management courses.
I make no secret of the fact that gaining these qualifications and accreditations has been enabled by the support of great and inspiring managers throughout my 30 years (to date) working in health and social care. I have been fortunate to have performed a wide variety of roles, too – Carer, Staff Nurse, Sister, Senior Sister, Registered Manager, HR and Training Manager, Operations Manager and, most recently, Quality and Compliance Manager for Canford Healthcare. I feel humbled to have supported and cared for so many patients, residents, their families and staff. It is the best feeling to know that you have made a difference, no matter how small or large this may seem.
As Quality and Compliance Manager I oversee the governance and quality for our 11 care homes and ensure their full compliance with legislation and regulation.
Within this role – and especially when our dreaded enemy coronavirus (COVID-19) hit – I soon realised that digital tools were the only way forward to ensure that we could be truly effective and ensure the best outcomes for residents, staff and professionals. Their oversight, transparency, analysis functionality and ability to deliver swift communication to large numbers of people is second to none. However, when collecting data and using digital tools it’s important to know precisely what you are using it to look for. Otherwise, you could be swamped with information – and dashboards for dashboards’ sake!
After building (from scratch and with no personal IT experience) an online governance system using Microsoft 365 and several associated apps, I have become a digital champion for Canford Healthcare. As a result, I attend steering groups with the Department of Health, NHS Digital, Social Care in Excellence and Care England networks. I little dreamed, when I started my career in nursing, that I would end up so involved in technology.
So, what does a week being me look like? Stay tuned to read my next blog, which shows what a typical start to the week is like for me!