The CQC Self-Audit — Find Your Operational Gaps Before CQC Does
The CQC Self-Audit
47 questions inspectors actually ask. Find the operational gaps in your governance before CQC does. Built inside a CQC-rated Good community care service still operating after 21 years.
The most common reason providers fail inspections isn't poor care
It is operational structure. Inspectors weigh evidence — and the gap between providers who pass cleanly and providers who get pulled up is almost never about quality of care. It is whether their governance can produce consistent, regulation-mapped evidence on demand.
This self-audit is the same internal checklist I use at Care Horizons Limited — Bristol, CQC-rated Good, trading since 2004. 47 questions across all five CQC Key Questions, plus a Quick Critical Checks section covering the gaps that appear most commonly in inspection reports.
Complete it honestly. Find your gaps. Decide what to do about them.
Download the audit — instantly
12 pages, professionally formatted. No sign-up required to read it. Print it, work through it on screen, share it with your team.
Download the PDF →Or sign up below to also receive a 5-email gap-closing series.
The 5-email gap-closing series
Help closing the gaps the audit reveals. Five short emails over 14 days about the most common operational gaps — what they are, why they matter under the new framework, and how to close them.
What's inside the audit
1 — Quick Critical Checks (5)
The five gaps that appear most commonly in CQC reports as immediate concerns.
2 — SAFE (8)
Safeguarding, medication, IPC, risk assessment, falls prevention, lone working, sepsis.
3 — EFFECTIVE (8)
Care planning, MCA, consent, induction, training, delegation, continuity, reablement.
4 — CARING (6)
Dignity, accessible information, advocacy, sexuality and relationships, religion and belief.
5 — RESPONSIVE (8)
Complaints, equality, end of life, advance care planning, online safety, domestic abuse.
6 — WELL-LED (12)
Audit, governance, fit and proper persons, GDPR, cyber security, AI, conflict of interest.
Scoring rubric
Honest scoring guide. Tick Yes / No / Partly. Calculate your percentage per Key Question.
Gap-to-system mapping
Each gap links to the specific Hiscock & Co operational system that closes it.
Built on 21 years of operational practice
I'm Vierka Hiscock. I've been running Care Horizons Limited — a CQC-rated Good community care service in Bristol — since 2004. Over those 21 years I have written and rewritten the governance library through every regulatory change the sector has been through.
This audit is the same internal checklist I use to test our own readiness. The systems it maps to are the same library, generalised for white-label use and made available to other UK community care providers as a one-time purchase — not an annual subscription.
Published by Care Franchising Limited · Companies House 16271445 · ICO ZB959091
Care Horizons Limited · Companies House 05093285 · Trading since 2004 · CQC-rated Good · ISO 9001 · ISO 45001
Common questions
Is this really free?
Yes. We do not charge for the audit, we do not require a credit card, and we do not automatically opt you into any paid service.
How long does it take to complete?
Around 15 minutes for an experienced Registered Manager. Longer if you need to check whether each policy actually exists — which is, of course, the point.
Aligned with the Single Assessment Framework?
Yes. Structured around the five CQC Key Questions (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-Led) used in the 2024 SAF.
Does it work for my service type?
Built for community care providers — domiciliary, live-in, extra care, supported living, outreach, day services, and Personal Assistant frameworks. Not residential homes or hospital settings.
What if I find lots of gaps?
You will. Every provider does — usually between 12 and 22. The regulatory landscape moves fast. The audit ends with a gap-to-system mapping showing which Hiscock & Co system closes each gap.
Can I share it with colleagues?
Please do. Licensed for free internal use within any UK organisation. Cannot be resold or redistributed commercially.
What's the next step after the audit?
If your gaps are wide, start with our 14-Day Inspection Readiness System — the fortnight plan we work through ourselves before every inspection.