Audit template
Electronic Call Monitoring
Reviews ECM data quality, log-in compliance and what the exceptions tell you about the service. This template runs monthly in MyCareCompliance and carries 8 mapped checks across 6 CQC quality statements.
Last reviewed: September 2026. This guidance reflects CQC information available at the date above — always refer to cqc.org.uk for current regulatory requirements.
What the audit covers
Every question in the Electronic Call Monitoring is mapped to a CQC quality statement and the underlying regulation, so a failed check tells you exactly which part of the single assessment framework is at risk. This is one of the core templates we recommend for every provider.
- Runs monthly — core template
- Part of the Operations & service delivery audit category
- Maps to 5 regulations: Regulation 18 — Staffing, Regulation 13 — Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, Regulation 10 — Dignity and respect, Regulation 9 — Person-centred care, Regulation 17 — Good governance
- Failed checks become tracked improvement actions with an owner, due date and evidence
The 8 checks
Safe and effective staffing
Safe — 2 checks- Regulation 18 — StaffingElectronic Call Monitoring
Does the office team monitor live ECM alerts for late or missed calls and take immediate, documented action to ensure people's safety?
What we look for: Check the ECM alert dashboard and duty notes. Good looks like immediate follow-up on 'no-show' or 'late' alerts by coordinators calling the staff member or client. A fail would be a backlog of unacknowledged alerts or no documented evidence of action taken when a call breached the tolerance window.
Evidence: Live ECM dashboard, duty log/alert resolution notes, daily handover records, on-call logs
- Regulation 18 — StaffingElectronic Call Monitoring
Does the ECM schedule and actual log data demonstrate that staff have sufficient, realistic travel time allocated between visits?
What we look for: Check the ECM schedules of 5 care workers. Good looks like clear, distinct travel blocks between calls, calculated realistically for the geography. If staff are routinely logging into a call 1 minute after logging out of a call 3 miles away, this indicates 'overlapping' and poor scheduling, which is a fail.
Evidence: Carer route schedules, travel time vs actual travel time logs, ECM overlap reports
Safeguarding
Safe — 1 check- Regulation 13 — Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatmentElectronic Call Monitoring
Are missed calls identified via ECM robustly investigated, including duty of candour, safeguarding referrals, and root cause analysis?
What we look for: Review any missed calls flagged by ECM in the last 3 months. Good practice requires a full incident report, welfare check of the client, notification to the local authority/CQC if harm occurred, and a documented investigation. Failing to recognize a missed call as a potential safeguarding issue is a fail.
Evidence: Incident reports, safeguarding referrals, local authority notifications, ECM missed call reports
Kindness, compassion and dignity
Caring — 1 check- Regulation 10 — Dignity and respectElectronic Call Monitoring
Where ECM indicates a care worker is running significantly late, is there evidence that the office proactively informs the person receiving care?
What we look for: Review the logs for calls that were over 30 minutes late. Good looks like a logged phone call to the service user or their family to apologize and update them on the ETA. A lack of proactive communication, leaving the person anxious and waiting, is a fail.
Evidence: Communication logs, ECM alert notes, feedback from service user calls/surveys
Care provision, integration and continuity
Responsive — 1 check- Regulation 9 — Person-centred careElectronic Call Monitoring
Does ECM data confirm that care workers remain for the full duration of the commissioned visit, avoiding 'call clipping'?
What we look for: Sample 5 service users and compare their commissioned hours against ECM actuals. Good looks like staff staying for the full time, or leaving early only if the client requested it and it was documented. Systemic 'call clipping' (leaving 10-15 mins early regularly) without reassessment of needs is a fail.
Evidence: Call duration reports, commissioned vs actual hours reports, care plan visit requirements
Governance, management and sustainability
Well-led — 2 checks- Regulation 17 — Good governanceElectronic Call Monitoring
Is there evidence that care staff consistently use the Electronic Call Monitoring (ECM) system to log in and out of all scheduled visits without bypassing the system?
What we look for: Sample a minimum of 10 staff members' ECM records for the past month. Good looks like over 95% compliance with electronic logging, with valid reasons for manual overrides (e.g., phone broken). Frequent manual log-ins without justification or disciplinary follow-up constitutes a fail.
Evidence: ECM compliance reports, manual timesheet adjustments, staff supervision records, app usage logs
- Regulation 17 — Good governanceElectronic Call Monitoring
Are robust contingency plans in place and followed when the ECM system experiences an outage or staff have no mobile signal?
What we look for: Review the ECM policy and business continuity plan. Good looks like clear instructions for staff (e.g., using a freephone landline system, SMS backup, or paper timesheets) during app failures, and mapping of known rural 'blackspots'. No clear procedure for data capture during an outage is a fail.
Evidence: Business continuity plan, staff ECM training records, paper timesheet backups, signal blackspot registers
Learning, improvement and innovation
Well-led — 1 check- Regulation 17 — Good governanceElectronic Call Monitoring
Does the Registered Manager conduct monthly analysis of ECM data to identify trends in punctuality, continuity, and staffing capacity?
What we look for: Review the monthly management reports derived from ECM data. Good looks like the manager analyzing late calls, short calls, and continuity of care to drive improvements (e.g., rescheduling poor routes, recruiting in specific postcodes). Merely collecting the data without using it for service improvement is a fail.
Evidence: Monthly manager audits, KPI reports, staff meeting minutes, continuous improvement plans
See it running for your service
Book a free demonstration and we will run the Electronic Call Monitoring against scenarios from a service like yours, or start your 7-day trial and try it yourself.
See it with your own service
Book a free demonstration and we will walk through the platform using scenarios from a service like yours.