The CAP Awards, one of the healthcare industry’s leading measures of quality in housekeeping and catering, are unveiling their new awards scheme for 2015.

The Awards, which are open to care homes across the UK and Ireland, are increasingly seen as THE badge of quality for catering and housekeeping services and are becoming ever more relevant to residents and their families.

Previous winners include homes from Gracewell Healthcare, Castlebeck and The Huntercomebe Group.

Over the past three years a growing number of care homes have opened their doors to have their housekeeping and catering services rated by CAP inspectors, which award either a Bronze, Silver or Gold level for the quality of service on offer.

Crucially the awards are also acknowledged by the Care Quality Commission and count as evidence in the Quality & Risk Profile and in CQC inspections.

Managing Director Ian Jackson said there was an appetite from providers to drive up standards whilst demonstrating transparency of operations to the public.

He said: “The CAP Awards, much like a Michelin Star or a Kitemark, give instant reassurance to a resident, or a family member that the catering and the cleaning of the care home in question are of a very high standard.

“These elements of the home are often a very accurate indicator of the broader quality of care on offer so it’s important to get them right.

“Because our analysis is across all aspects of the housekeeping and catering operations, from staff welfare to food storage and from menu balance to financials, service users can trust a CAP Award as a meaningful badge of quality.”

The CAP Award is also a useful management tool for providers and highlights where efficiency savings can be made, crucially at no cost to the quality of the service.

Paul Davies, of Gold Award-winning Bon Secours Care Village, Cork, said CAP accreditation had transformed the catering and housekeeping operations in the home.

Commenting on the Gold Award win Paul said: “Working with the CAP Awards team taught us how we could improve the quality of our catering offer and housekeeping while controlling costs.

“Winning the actual Gold Award was the culmination of putting this good advice into practice. What’s more, having Gold status is a quick way of demonstrating to our residents, and their loved ones, that this is a care home that takes catering and housekeeping seriously and only offers the highest quality service.

“Being an award winner undoubtedly puts us ahead of the competition, and the independent nature of the CAP Award makes it a meaningful endorsement that prospective residents can trust.”

The CAP Awards are based on actual operational performance rather than just supporting paperwork, for instance; is staff training reflected in their actual working practices?

Each provider receives a score measured on the performance in a real-life audit with an action plan for future progression and ‘hand holding’ to help ensure that the plan is delivered within specified time frames. If a nominee doesn’t reach the Bronze level then support is provided to help corrective actions.

The programme provides practical support and help in progressing the services

‘Tools of the Trade’ are provided as appropriate i.e. food waste controls, kitchen checklists, supplier due diligence questionnaires, fortnightly Core Skills Awareness plan, etc.

Ian added that the Awards were also key to staff motivation: “Housekeeping and Catering teams can sometimes be overlooked so the Awards provide an opportunity to champion these hardworking departments and celebrate their efforts, this can in turn assist staff retention.”

To find out if your facility could achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold Cap Award go to www.capaward.co.uk/contact/