How to keep health and social care policies practical and used

In health and social care, policies and procedures should never be seen as just a regulatory formality or an administrative requirement. When written well and applied effectively, they are the backbone of safe, person-centred care. Yet, across the sector, from care homes to supported living and domiciliary services, too many providers fall into the same trap: they have dozens of policies, but they are not well-known, not well-understood, and certainly not used in day-to-day practice.

This disconnect between policy and practice continues to lead to inspection failures, harm to service users, staff confusion, and legal risk. Worse still, it undermines the credibility of services that may otherwise be delivering good care.

In this blog, Dr Richard Dune explores how we ensure that health and social care policies are not just written, but lived.

Why do policies fail in practice?

Despite the effort that goes into developing them, many policies fall flat because they fail to meet three essential tests:

• They are not service-specific - Generic templates fail to reflect the real risks, models of care, or service user needs

• They are inaccessible - Written in dense, jargon-filled language and filed away in folders no one reads

• They are unused - Staff may not know where to find them, let alone understand or apply them under pressure.

As a result, these policies fail to protect the very people they are intended to serve, service users and staff. This isn’t just a theoretical problem; it’s a regulatory one.

How policy failures link to CQC breaches

Many common breaches identified in CQC inspections can be attributed to weak or poorly implemented policies. Here are just a few examples:

These aren’t technicalities - they reflect a broader cultural problem: when policies are written to pass inspections, rather than guide behaviour, they lose their power to prevent harm and drive improvement.

What makes a policy work - Useful, usable and used

To avoid these pitfalls, policies must meet three critical criteria: they must be practical, usable, and used.

Useful

A useful policy is one that is:

• Aligned to current legislation and regulation (e.g. Care Act 2014, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, Mental Capacity Act 2005)

• Reflective of best practice guidance from sources like NICE, Skills for Care, or the Resuscitation Council

• Tailored to the service type, care model, and service user group.

A generic policy on medication administration, for instance, might state that staff must “follow the five rights of medication,” but a useful policy will go further, outlining when prompting is appropriate, when a second signature is required, and how to manage complex conditions such as diabetes or epilepsy.

Usable

Even a legally sound policy will fail if it cannot be understood or implemented.

A usable policy is:

• Written in plain English, free of unnecessary jargon

• Structured with clear headings, bullet points, flowcharts, and step-by-step procedures

• Broken down by job role, showing exactly who is responsible for what, and when.

For example, a safeguarding policy should:

• Identify the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

• Specify how to respond during and outside regular hours

• Explain how to complete a referral and where to send it

• Include a flowchart for quick decision-making during a crisis.

Usable policies are tools, not textbooks. They should be designed for use in high-pressure situations, not just for filing cabinets.

Used

A policy is only successful if the workforce actively uses it. That means:

• Being introduced during induction

• Referenced in team meetings, supervision sessions, and appraisals

• Applied during complaint handling, incident investigations, and audits.

A policy that’s not read, understood, or applied is a liability, not a safeguard.

For instance, if a Medication Administration Record (MAR) error leads to a hospital admission, a well-used medication policy should:

• Be referenced in the internal investigation

• Highlight where the procedure was breached

• Lead to retraining or revision of practice

• Prompt a review of the policy itself.

Real-world policy gaps and how to fix them

Let’s look at five common areas where policy failure contributes to regulatory non-compliance - and the simple solutions that make a difference.

1. Good Governance (Reg 17)

Issue - Policies are outdated or forgotten. No audit trails.

Fix:

• Introduce monthly policy reviews with version control

• Use governance dashboards to monitor staff policy awareness

• Schedule audit cycles linked to each policy area. 

2. Safe Care and Treatment (Reg 12)

Issue - MAR chart errors; no epilepsy protocols.

Fix:

• Develop specific clinical risk protocols for high-risk meds

• Use electronic MAR (eMAR) with built-in prompts

• Ensure staff are trained on double-checking and escalation steps. 

3. Safeguarding (Reg 13)

Issue - No logs, no escalation process, missed disclosures.

Fix:

• Define the internal referral process clearly

• Include local authority contact details

• Require safeguarding concerns to be logged, audited, and reviewed.

4. Consent and Mental Capacity (Reg 11)

Issue - No documentation of consent or MCA assessments.

Fix:

• Provide staff with capacity assessment templates

• Designate an MCA Champion to lead internal knowledge

• Use policies to guide decisions in complex consent scenarios.

5. Recruitment (Reg 19)

Issue - Staff deployed before DBS checks or skills validation.

Fix:

• Use a recruitment policy checklist including DBS, references, and ID

• Link policies to HR and rota systems to prevent deployment before clearance

• Maintain a competency sign-off log for each role. 

From paper to practice - Embedding policy in daily care

Writing a policy is just the first step. The real challenge is making it part of your organisational culture.

Here are practical ways to embed policies into the daily rhythm of care:

Induction

Show new starters how the policy applies to their role, not just where to find it.

Use scenario-based training:

“What would you do if a service user refused their medication?”

Supervision and appraisals

Use policy as a reflective tool:

“Which policy did you refer to recently?”
“Were there any situations where you weren’t sure what the procedure was?”

Audits

Go beyond checking if the policy exists:

• Has it been read and signed off?

• Are outcomes and care records consistent with policy expectations?

Visual prompts

Posters and flowcharts on noticeboards can bring policy into real-time awareness. Examples include:

• Safeguarding flowcharts

• MCA best interest pathways

• Fire evacuation checklists.

Team meetings

Use recent events to apply policies in context:

“Let’s talk through last week’s complaint - how does our complaints policy guide our response?”

Digital tools

Use platforms like ComplyPlus™ to:

• Track who has read which policy

• Map policies to CQC Quality Statements

• Automate version control and review reminders.

Final thoughts

Policies are not just for inspectors. They are:

• Protection for service users

• Support for frontline staff

• Evidence of leadership and accountability.

The difference between services rated “Inadequate” and those rated “Good” or “Outstanding” often lies in how well their policies are understood, applied, and embedded. So ask yourself:

• Are your policies role-specific and risk-aware?

• Can your staff apply them in real scenarios?

• Are they helping you deliver better outcomes, or just gathering dust?

Conclusion

In health and social care, policies must be more than words on a page. They should be living documents, practical, clear, and woven into every aspect of care delivery.

Effective policy management isn’t just a CQC requirement; it’s the foundation of safe, ethical, and person-centred care. Whether you're running a small supported living service or a national provider group, the challenge remains the same: ensuring that every policy is useful, usable, and utilised.

When policies are implemented effectively, people receive better care, and providers remain compliant, consistent, and confident.

Make policy work for you - With ComplyPlus™

I’ve spent the last few years leading the development of ComplyPlus™, our smart, user-friendly platform designed to take the stress out of policy management.

Explore the ComplyPlus™ suite:

• ComplyPlus™ E-Learning Courses (CPD-accredited online courses)

• ComplyPlus™ Compliance Centre – Live dashboards, inspection readiness

• ComplyPlus™ LMS – Sector-specific learning management system

• ComplyPlus™ TMS – Internal training tracking & CPD audits

• ComplyPlus™ Policies & Procedures – Fully editable & CQC/Ofsted-ready

• ComplyPlus™ Legal – Contracts, employment docs, and HR templates.

Whether you're a small care home or a multi-site provider, ComplyPlus™ helps you shift from compliance chaos to clarity and confidence.

Because when policies are useful, usable, and used every day, by every staff member, everyone wins.