Groundbreaking Mock Inspection Peer Review to transform care quality assurance

The Care Consultant Accreditation Framework (C-CAF) has announced the launch of a groundbreaking new solution that will enable care providers to showcase quality to external stakeholders between inspections.

The Mock Inspection Peer Review (MIPR), developed in collaboration with Delphi Care Solutions, allows providers to gain a credible, independent assessment of their service quality that can be shared with families and commissioners.

The tool was designed to address a long‑standing structural flaw that continues to undermine providers – the legacy rating problem.

With CQC inspection reports frequently becoming outdated due to regulatory backlogs, providers who have successfully moved a service from ‘Requires Improvement’ to a compliant standard must wait nearly a year for a reinspection, resulting in lost tender opportunities, reduced occupancy, and sustained commercial damage.

The MIPR enables providers to prove that their commitment to quality care delivery is genuine and current.

The solution also injects trust and verifiable assurance into the mock inspection process by transforming what was once an internal document, which lacked independent oversight, into an externally credible asset.

How the MIPR process works:

Stage 1: Mock Inspection and Draft Report

A C-CAF accredited consultant, such as Delphi, carries out a mock inspection and produces a draft report. The report is checked using SMART Care Intel, ensuring it aligns with CQC standards and evidence. The provider reviews the draft for factual accuracy before peer review begins.

Stage 2: Two-Stage Peer Review

The draft report undergoes two-stage peer review by the C-CAF Panel to ensure it meets professional standards and is capable of publication. Only reports scoring Good or Outstanding progress to final approval.

Stage 3: Public Directory Publication

Once approved, the report is assigned a verified, reflecting its overall quality based on the peer review assessment. This score and the full report can then be published publicly, via a provider’s website or directories like Autumna, creating a transparent and credible display of the service’s quality.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A completed MIPR report provides families and commissioners with essential, up-to-date quality data that counters the problem of legacy CQC ratings. It can also be presented in tenders and funding applications as objective evidence of current quality and proactive governance.

Delphi, a proud Enterprise Partner of C-CAF, worked closely with the organisation to design the Mock Inspection structure that will define a consistent sector standard.

We a now encouraging more consultants join us in forming the C-CAF Mock Inspection team.