Healthcare facilities must operate in higher standards of cleanliness as they accommodate to individuals with compromised immune systems facing heightened vulnerability to infections. Maintaining a pristine health or social care environment isn’t just about cleanliness—it’s a vital shield against infections, a safety net for patients and staff, and a badge of confidence in the quality of care. Cleaning at healthcare facilities falls under CQC and Health and Social Care Act 2008. GCC is proud to have delivered healthcare cleaning and infection control that meets and exceeds the contemporary standands for nearly 50 years!
CQC – What is it?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) independently regulates all health and social care services in England, including care homes, hospitals, dental and medical practices, beauty clinics and care given in people’s homes. The CQC’s purpose is to ensure that these services provide safe and effective care by monitoring, inspecting and regulating services. The CQC exists in order to make sure that the same level of care is available to everyone, and therefore they must be able to identify those who slip below this. Regular inspections help identify any areas where care falls short, ensuring safety and competence.
The CQC conducts inspections of these providers in England to verify compliance with standards. The inspection frequency varies based on the service’s rating:
- For services rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding,’ the next inspection typically occurs within five years.
- Services that ‘Require Improvement’ are usually inspected within 12 months, with annual inspections until improvements are made.
All new care providers must be inspected by the CQC within 6–12 months of registration. Taking the above into consideration, audited practices will employ professional cleaning service providers to meet the high expectation. This is where we come in – Enquire now.
In 2021, the CQC revamped its strategy, streamlining assessment processes to ensure timeliness. They embraced virtual inspections for most home care providers, except those deemed high risk. The game-changer? The CQC introduced the Single Assessment Framework, evaluating providers, local authorities, and integrated care systems. This fresh approach includes rating quality statements, people’s experiences, processes, and outcomes.
CQC Cleaning Standards
When the CQC, inspect the management of infection prevention and hygiene control, they assess against Regulations 12 and 15. These are derived from the HSCA 2008 and cover the cleaning expectations for practices. Regulation 12 requires providers to ensure that the premises and any equipment used, is safe and prevents spread of infection.
Regulation 15 requires healthcare providers to maintain clean, secure premises with hygiene standards aligned to their purpose. Practices should use suitable cleaning methods and schedules for care and treatment
The CQC will also take into consideration, the National Standard Infection Control Precautions, in particular:
- SICP 3/5 PPE – Non-disposable domestic gloves colour coded are now required.
- SICP 10/2 – Schedules, records and audits
- SICP 10/3- Cleaning equipment is clean and in good working order
Healthcare organisations widely apply the national colour coding scheme to all cleaning materials and equipment, aiming to reduce cross-contamination between areas.
Being a practice manager can feel overwhelming with so many responsibilities to juggle. But fear not! We’re here to lighten the load and ease your stress!
GCC FM- Why choose us?
Cleaning standards are an important element of the CQC audits – At GCC, we have nearly 50 years of experience working with CQC sites and specialise in healthcare cleaning services. Our fully trained team adheres to CQC, HIS, or HIW standards, ensuring effective infection control.
Using NHS colour coding across sites, we provide separate buckets, mops, gloves and micro fibre cloths in red, yellow, green and red. The practice must facilitate the separate storage of all items in an organised cleaning cupboard, in compliance with SICP 10/3.
We provide detailed reporting, tick sheets for daily completion by our cleaners, and Customer Care Books to reinforce compliance protocols. Our safe system of work includes risk assessments, method statements, Safety Data Sheets and COSHH risk assessments in easily auditable format.
Our GCC operatives follow BICSc standards, maintaining consistently high cleaning quality.
Picture this: A patient steps into your healthcare facility, their eyes scanning the surroundings. What do they expect? A pristine environment—the kind that whispers, ‘You’re in good hands.’ That’s where our years of experience come into play. We’re not just any medical cleaning company, we have trained and developed our expertise. And our secret weapon? Industry-leading cleaning products that make germs disappear. GCC’s own EN14476-compliant chemicals work in line with CQC good practice.
Sounds like what you need? Speak to one of our experts today!
