Beyond The Audit: Episode 2

When Poor Practice Becomes “Just How We Do Things Here”

Listen to Episode 2

“We’ve always done it like that.”

Usually said with complete confidence. Occasionally followed by, “CQC were fine with it last time.” Which is reassuring, particularly when last time was four years ago.

In Episode 2 of Beyond the Audit, I look at how poor practice becomes normalised in health and social care ,not necessarily because people don’t care, but because shortcuts, workarounds and small compromises gradually become simply “how we do things here”.

I talk about the gap between work as imagined and work as done, what leaders inadvertently tolerate, why excellent compliance figures don't necessarily mean excellent practice, and why dealing with the person involved in an incident doesn't always deal with the underlying risk.