Having thoroughly assessed your service against the CQC's essential standards, submitted your applications forms and applied for your CRB checks, the next stage is your actual assessment visit. Typically, the point at which the assessors make contact to arrange this visit is the point at which the provider being assessed starts to panic. But this needn't be the case, carrying out a dry-run assessment in advance of the real thing will highlight any areas that need attention and will allow you the self assurance that you can enter the real assessment with confidence.

A dry-run assessment is important for a number of reasons; firstly, it engages the whole service in the CQCs assessment - it may be that those not directly involved in your CQC registration application may have very little understanding of what it means to be registered and what the CQC are looking for. Carrying out a dry-run assessment will raise awareness amongst your staff and allow for discussions to begin whereby management can cascade down the importance of CQC registration and the specific areas or outcomes that are being assessed. A fully engaged team will help convince the CQC that everybody is working towards the same standards and the same goals in relation to patient care, risk management etc.

Secondly, a dry-run assessment will allow you to truly test that you have all the evidence you need to demonstrate compliance with the CQC's standards and that you can easily lay your hands on it. All of your staff may have had adequate training on the importance of safeguarding vulnerable adults but when put on the spot, can you really produce evidence to support that fact? A dry-run assessment will give you the answer.

Thirdly, you may have prepared all of your evidence several weeks or even some months ago and although you may have been confident to discuss it all at the time, you may not have familiarised yourself with it recently. A dry-run assessment allows you an additional opportunity to understand exactly what you can present to the assessors and how exactly all of your evidence relates to the CQC outcomes.

And finally; having an outsider, who understands exactly what the CQC are looking for, carrying out your 'dry-run' assessment; allows for a fresh pair of eyes to consider your service in its entirety. In doing so this potentially allows for the identification of areas that may not be meeting the CQC standards or the identification of areas where supporting evidence may be lacking. Spotting these weaker areas in a dry-run assessment gives you the opportunity to put things right before the real assessment takes place.

If you fail your real assessment you may be asked to cease delivering services until you are able to demonstrate improved standards that allow you to pass the CQC's assessment. Failing a dry-run assessment will allow you the opportunity to improve standards before the CQC visit, preventing any disruption to services, and saving yourselves a lot of time, money and stress!