We have new templates to help you complete the Information Governance Toolkit

Words Worth Reading Ltd now provide downloadable templates that facilitate the in-house completion of required documentation for the Information Governance Toolkit.

Information Governance (IG) is the framework for handling personal information in a confidential and secure manner to appropriate ethical and quality standards in a modern health service.

The Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) is an online system which allows NHS organisations, including community pharmacies, dental practices, eye care services and general practices along with adult social care services and other health related providers to assess themselves against Department of Health Information Governance standards.

The latest version of the IGT, version 9, is considered to be more rigorous and prescriptive than previous versions. It has been further tailored to fall in line with the Information Governance requirements of the Care Quality Commission's registration process. 


Words Worth Reading Ltd has a wealth of experience in supporting companies to meet the Information Governance requirements, and we now offer a new service to help you write your own information governance documents. We now provide downloadable templates that facilitate the in-house completion of required action plans, policies, training material and process mapping. These templates can be purchased from our website.

Has the CQC sent you extra registration codes?

Once you have registered online, you will have received your registration letter from the CQC. This letter includes the code you need to begin the application process online. However, you may have received more than one invitation letter to register.

This does not mean you have to register more than once. Extra access codes were sent out to providers because the CQC used data based on contracts rather than your legal entity. If your contracts are all held by one legal entity, you only need to complete one registration, using one of the access code you have received.

But, you must remember to deactivate the codes you won’t be using. The CQC will be sending out letters and phoning providers who have not deactivated the extra codes. It is a simple process that can be done online. To deactivate your extra codes, visit the CQC website. 

If you would like help and support with any aspect of the CQC registration process, visit our website.

Recruitment Software and Innovative Technologies Showcase this September

UK Recruiter are running a second Recruitment Software and Innovative Technologies Showcase in September 2012, following the success of their event in May.

The event is purely for recruiters and offers the opportunity to find the right IT solution for your business. You will see how technology is evolving in recruitment and how that relates to your business.The event could enable you to become more productive and competitive.

Twenty database and technology companies will use creative “speed-pitching” sessions so that recruiters can see a full range of providers in one afternoon. Technology Providers at the event include Monster, Colleague, Bullhorn, LaunchPad Recruits, Arithon, Mercury xRM, idibu, Safe Screening, Bond Adapt, Microdec, TriSys, Influence, ebsta, iCIMS, Dillistone Systems, Plugin Recruiter, Cube19 and Voyager.

The APSCo Technology Leadership Forum will also host a debate on the positive and negative aspects of spending on IT. This will be hosted by the forum Chair and you will be invited to pose questions, debate and discussion from the floor.

The event takes place on 27th September 2012 from 12.30pm to 5.30pm in central London. For more information or to register visit http://recnet27sept.eventbrite.com/

If you would like help with recruitment or with making your business more competitive, visit our website. 

Improvements made to the CQC Inspection Report Template

Based on feedback from members of the public, those who use services, providers and scrutiny committees the CQC has made some improvements to how they present their judgements from an inspection in a report. The design of the inspection report and follow up report are now more in keeping with the website.

The improvements include:

-       - Different report templates for an inspection and the follow up review.

     - The inspection report will be used to publish judgements for all inspections.

     - The follow up report is designed to quickly get information into the public domain.

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They have renamed the 'Review of compliance report' to 'Inspection report' to reflect the shift in terminology toward inspections.

The detailed information about the service inspected has been moved to the second page of the report. While the judgements against each standard inspected are shown on the front page using ticks and crosses. This will replace the current statements about overall compliance.

A new section called 'What people told us and what we found' replaces the two separate sections currently labeled as 'What people told us' and the summary of each judgement for each outcome within 'What we found about the standards we reviewed...' This section will be a summarised analysis of the CQC’s findings for the inspection as a whole.

A contents page has also been included in the new template to help readers navigate the report and a glossary of key terms has been added.

The inspection report template is designed to give readers a more balanced view of evidence. Rather than reporting people’s comments without context and without linking it to other supporting or conflicting evidence, analysis of the evidence has been put together. 'Our judgement' and 'Reasons for our judgement' has been renamed 'Our detailed findings'. This will tell the reader how the CQC have reached their judgement, based on analysis of the evidence.

If you would like help or advice on any aspect of the CQC registration process, visit our website. 

Burning all the shades of Grey

A charity that supports the victims of domestic violence, Wearside Women in Need, in Sunderland, has announced that it plans to burn copies of the hit new best seller, Fifty Shades of Grey . The charity feels that the novel glorifies the abuse of women, and has launched the Fifty Shades of Abuse campaign.

Claire Phillipson, director of Wearside Women in Need, said: 'It normalises abuse, degrades women and encourages sexual violence.'

She told BBC News: 'I do not think I can put into words how vile I think this book is and how dangerous I think the idea is that you get a sophisticated but naive, young women and a much richer, abusive older man who beats her up and does some dreadful things to her sexually.

'My main objection is that at a time when local authorities are making cuts to outreach and refuge services for women experiencing domestic violence, we have libraries wasting and grossly misusing public to buy a book which says: "domestic violence is sexy."

Changes in light of Winterbourne View

A serious case review has been published to highlight the role that the CQC and five other organisations played in the events that occurred at Winterbourne View. The CQC have announced that that will make changes to ensure they protect people from abuse.

Following the events of Winterbourne View, the CQC carried out a full review of their systems and processes. This led them to identify failings they felt they had in dealing with whistleblowers and processes the information they receive.

The changes proposed by the CQC include:

·         follow-up on action plans when services aren’t meeting government standards.

·         build new ways to work with local safeguarding teams.

·         develop the way we analyse safeguarding alerts so we can spot trends in care.

Dame Jo Williams, CQC chair, said,  “Winterbourne View was a watershed moment for CQC.  We did not respond as we should have and we have offered our apologies to the patients and their families.

“We have been honest about our limitations at the time and willing to learn from them.  We carried out an urgent and thorough internal review to strengthen our processes and to ensure that we are better placed to play our part in protecting people in vulnerable care situations.”

Chief Executive David Behan said, “There is much for all the organisations involved with Winterbourne View to consider…I will ensure that the Care Quality Commission responds fully to all the recommendations for CQC. We will continue to work with other organisations to improve communications and sharing of information to ensure we all protect those who are most vulnerable.”

For advice and support in any aspect of CQC registration visit our website

Clearing 2012: Ucas statistics

Ucas announced that 5 days following the release of A-level results a quarter of students were still to secure a university place.

However, around 400,000 have had their places confirmed and the number of students gaining a place through clearing has increased from 2011, up by just over 4%. Clearing is a system system that allows those who have missed out on the grades needed for their university choices to find an alternative course. An increase in the number of university courses with free places means students using clearing have more choice than last year.

It's expected that more applicants will be accepted to university when compared with last year, according to Ucas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook.

"The combination of fewer applicants and the lifting of number controls for higher achieving candidates means there are many more courses with vacancies in clearing this year."

When A-level results were released the Ucas website was advertising over 25,000 courses with vacancies for UK students, far more than in 2011, when around 14,000 were available.

Visit our website to see what student editorial support we offer.