How CQC inspects gambling treatment services

Assessment framework

To direct the focus of our assessment, our teams will use a set of quality statements. These directly relate to the 5 key questions that we ask of all services we assess (are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?)

For this programme of assessments, we will use a bespoke assessment framework for gambling treatment services. This has been produced in collaboration with commissioners and service providers.

The framework contains quality statements that are tailored and relevant to the services you provide, and questions (called prompts) that inspectors will consider as part of their assessment of services.

When preparing for the assessment, our teams will consider the information and data they gather, such as from the PIR and responses from the service user survey. This helps them to decide which of the prompts they will use to help them make judgements on the quality statements (see how we do this under Making judgements).

The assessment team

Each assessment will be led by a CQC gambling treatment services inspector. The inspector will be your direct point of contact throughout the assessment process. The size of your service will determine how long we spend visiting you, the number of inspectors on the team and who they are. For example, for larger services we may assess over 2 or more days. We’ll confirm this information when we call you to announce the assessment.

Site visits

As part of the assessment, our team may visit your premises. If you offer remote services, we are able to provide access to one of our CQC offices or GambleAware offices for the purpose of the assessment. If the location is not suitable, we will make an alternative suitable arrangement. Our team will meet with the service manager, talk with staff and review systems, documents and records. We will try to make sure that our assessment visit does not affect the delivery of services to service users.

Introductory meeting

At the start of the visit, the assessment team will hold an introductory meeting with the service manager. This will introduce the assessment team and enable them to explain:

• the purpose and scope of the assessment
• how we will give feedback and/or escalate any concerns that we may identify
• how we will communicate our findings.

During this meeting you will have an opportunity to:

• include any staff you feel will contribute to the meeting
• tell us about the service, including the context in which it operates
• share any examples of notable or innovative practice
• tell us about any concerns or challenges for the service, and how you are addressing them.

We encourage you to be open and honest and it’s helpful if the service manager can tell the inspector about any concerns or other relevant information that may affect the assessment as soon as possible.

Gathering information

During the on-site visit, the assessment team will:

• interview staff at all levels (including managers, support workers, therapists and any other relevant staff)
• speak with service users
• review a sample of cases
• review documentary evidence
• check accommodation (for residential services).

We expect you to support inspectors to complete these activities. This will include:

• arranging times for interviews
• facilitating interpreting services where needed
• ensuring that the staff and service users who wish to speak with inspectors during the assessment are available
• arranging for the assessment team to have access to necessary records and gambling treatment service accommodation or premises.

Feedback on the visit

At the end of the assessment, our assessment team will meet with the service manager, and any other members of staff who the manager has invited, to provide summary feedback. This usually includes:

• explaining our findings to date, including any issues that we need to escalate
• any plans for follow-up or additional site visits if necessary
• explaining how we make our assessments, including how we analyse any evidence after the assessment
• explaining the next steps, including the timeline for reporting
• answering your questions about the process.

We will confirm this feedback in writing shortly after our assessment, but if we find any significant concerns we will let you know immediately during our assessment.

We also have an agreed process to share any significant concerns with GambleAware.

Mental Capacity Act

If your service provides support for adults who have (or appear to have) difficulty making informed decisions about their care, treatment or support, you may need to refer to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The Mental Capacity Act helps to safeguard the rights of people aged 16 and over who lack (or may lack) mental capacity to make decisions. This may be because of a lifelong learning disability or a more recent short-term or long-term impairment resulting from injury or illness. This includes decisions about whether to consent to care or treatment.

If a person’s capacity is (or is likely to be) impaired, staff must know how to ensure that decisions made on the person’s behalf are in their best interests.