How to upload your CQC ESF summary

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CQC has not been conducting its routine, on-site inspections. Instead, the CQC has develop an emergency support framework (ESF) to ensure people’s safety.

You can add your setting’s CQC ESF summary to its carehome.co.uk profile to further inform potential residents of your measures during the pandemic.

What is the CQC ESF?

The ESF is not an inspection to rate the performance of health and social care settings registered with the CQC. It is an approach where they phone each setting at least once to assess how they have been impacted by the coronavirus and what their reaction has been.

This interim emergency approach will be used during the pandemic and for a period afterwards. It includes:

• using and sharing information to target support where it’s needed most
• having open and honest conversations
• taking action to keep people safe and to protect people’s human rights
• capturing and sharing what the CQC does

Why should you add the CQC ESF summary to your profile?

The CQC is not making these summaries public but carehome.co.uk offers you the opportunity to upload the report to your profile.

You can do this to provide potential residents and their families with more information about how you have operated and currently operate during COVID-19. When surveyed, information around coronavirus was highly quoted as something care seekers want to see more of.

When care seekers browse care homes on our site, we have enabled a filter that allows them to search specifically for settings which have made their CQC ESF summary available to view.

Uploading your CQC ESF summary will provide potential residents with more transparency around the measures you have taken to combat the virus and keep your residents safe.

When you upload your QCQ ESF summary, a link to it will appear in your COVID-19 message, which is the wording highlighted in yellow on your profile.

How to upload your CQC ESF summary

To upload your ESF summary, click the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information tab in the menu.

 Scroll down the page and click on ‘Choose file’ to upload your ESF summary. The file must be in .pdf format.

After you have uploaded the summary, carehome.co.uk staff will verify the document. Once verified, a link will appear below the Coronavirus message on your profile.

Visitors to your profile will then be able to download and view the document.