CQC Mock Interview Preparation

One of the most important parts of preparation is being able to talk confidently about your own service.

You should know:

• what services you intend to provide;
• which regulated activity you are applying for;
• which service user groups you intend to support;
• how many people you initially intend to support;
• how you will obtain clients;
• how you will recruit staff;
• how you will finance the business;
• who is responsible for different areas of the organisation; and
• how the business will grow safely.

Our interview checklist specifically asks managers to be able to explain their Statement of Purpose, the care they will provide, the people they intend to support and how they plan to promote the service.

This is one reason we tell clients to read their Business Plan and Statement of Purpose properly before the interview.

If your Business Plan says that you intend to support 20 service users during your first year, you should understand how you arrived at that figure.

If your Statement of Purpose says that you will support adults with particular needs, you should be able to explain how you will meet those needs safely.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is one of the areas we spend considerable time on.

It is not enough to know the definition of safeguarding.

You need to understand what you would actually do.

For example:

A service user tells you that a care worker hit them yesterday. What do you do?

We would expect the client to think about matters such as:

• the immediate safety of the service user;
• whether medical attention is required;
• preserving evidence;
• reporting and escalation;
• safeguarding referrals;
• whether police involvement is necessary;
• removing or restricting the alleged perpetrator from contact where appropriate;
• recording the concern;
• notifying relevant organisations where required; and
• supporting the people involved.

The underlying preparation material covers these practical safeguarding processes rather than treating safeguarding as simply a policy topic.

Mental Capacity and consent

Clients should also be ready to discuss the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how they would apply it in practice.

For example:

1. What would you do if a person refused their medication?
2. Can someone make a decision you believe is unwise?
3. How would you establish whether someone has capacity to make a particular decision?
4. What happens if the person lacks capacity?

The questions are designed to establish whether the applicant understands how the principles apply to everyday care rather than simply whether they can recite legislation.

Our preparation material covers the five core principles of the Mental Capacity Act, including the presumption of capacity, supporting people to make decisions, the right to make an unwise decision, best interests and the least restrictive approach.

Recruitment and staffing

Another common area is recruitment.

You may be asked something apparently straightforward such as:

Talk me through your recruitment process.

But this can quickly lead to:

1. How will you verify references?
2. What checks will you carry out before someone starts work?
3. What happens during induction?
4. How will you assess competency?
5. What happens if a member of staff does not successfully complete their probation?
6. What will you do if you cannot recruit enough staff?

Our preparation material follows the recruitment journey from advertising and interviewing through pre-employment checks, induction and probation.

The important part is being able to explain the process naturally rather than simply reading from the Recruitment Policy.

Staff training and competency

You should be able to explain what training your staff will receive and why.

CQC may want to know:

• which courses are mandatory;
• whether specialist training is required for your service user groups;
• how training will be monitored;
• how you know that staff are competent rather than simply having completed an online course;
• what happens when training expires;
• who monitors compliance; and
• how the Registered Manager keeps their own knowledge up to date.

The interview may therefore move from a simple question about training into competency assessments, supervision, observations and ongoing professional development.

Medication management

If your service will support people with medication, expect this to be discussed.

You should understand:

• assisting versus administering medication;
• Medication Administration Records;
• PRN medication;
• medication errors;
• refusals;
• competency assessments;
• medication audits;
• record keeping; and
• when advice should be obtained from a GP, pharmacist or other healthcare professional.

For example:

1. A care worker calls you and says that a service user is refusing their medication. What would you advise them to do?

Our preparation material uses exactly this type of practical question and expects the applicant to consider recording the refusal, escalating appropriately and obtaining professional advice where required.

Complaints

Applicants should know their Complaints Policy.

But again, knowing that you have a policy is not enough.

We may ask:

• A service user complains about one of your carers. What happens next?

Then:

• What if the complaint is about you as the Registered Manager?

And:

• How will you demonstrate that lessons have been learned from the complaint?

The aim is to see whether the applicant understands investigation, accountability, escalation and improvement.

Governance and quality assurance

This is another particularly important area for Registered Managers and Nominated Individuals.

You may be asked:

• What audits will you carry out?
• How frequently will you complete them?
• What happens when an audit identifies a problem?
• How will actions be recorded?
• Who will monitor outstanding actions?
• How will you obtain feedback?
• How will you monitor the quality of care?
• How will you learn from incidents, complaints and mistakes?

Our preparation checklist specifically covers governance arrangements, responsibility when things go wrong, Duty of Candour, quality assurance, audits and using actions to improve the service.

Your policies and procedures

Clients purchasing our CQC Registration Pack receive the policies and procedures needed to prepare their service.

But having policies is only part of the requirement.

The Registered Manager needs to understand them.

During the mock interview, we may ask:

1. What does your Safeguarding Policy say you should do in this situation?
2. How frequently will your care plans be reviewed?
3. Who will investigate a complaint about the Registered Manager?
4. What is your procedure following a medication error?

This is why we repeatedly tell clients:

Read your policies before the interview.

You do not need to memorise every page, but you need to understand the systems you are proposing to operate.

We also use scenario-based questions

Scenario questions are extremely useful because they demonstrate whether someone can apply their knowledge.

Examples might include:

1. A care worker does not arrive for a scheduled visit. What do you do?
2. A service user suddenly appears confused and unwell. How would you respond?
3. A relative asks you to share information about a service user who has not given consent. What would you do?
4. You discover that a care worker’s mandatory training expired two months ago. What action would you take?
5. A member of staff raises a whistleblowing concern about you. What happens?
6. A medication audit identifies repeated recording errors. What would you do next?

This is where clients often discover the difference between knowing the theory and being able to explain a safe management response under pressure.

The interview guide itself recommends practising hypothetical situations because they require applicants to bring together their training, knowledge and experience.