Free care plan audit checklist
Open one care plan and audit it in five minutes. Twelve checks across the person, safety and day-to-day usability – with a prioritised fix list you can print for your audit records.
- ✓ Free
- ✓ No sign-up
- ✓ Takes 5 minutes
- ✓ Nothing saved or sent
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Section 1 of 3: The person
The person
Helpful check: open one real care plan and answer against what’s actually written in it – not what you know about the client from memory. If it’s only in your head, it’s not in the plan.
Your answers stay on this page – nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
A note on this checklist
This is an internal audit aid built by everyLIFE Technologies. It reflects widely used person-centred care planning practice, but it is not a CQC judgement and it does not replace your organisation’s own audit policy or professional judgement. Use it to make your plans better, one plan at a time.
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Care plans that keep themselves current.
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How to use this checklist
- Pick one real plan. Open it alongside this page and answer against what’s written, not what you remember about the client.
- Work through all three sections. The person, safety and currency, and whether a carer could actually follow it on a busy morning.
- Print the fix list. Each gap becomes a specific improvement. File the printout as your audit record – it’s dated for exactly that.
- Audit the next plan. Results stack on the page, so one sitting can cover several plans and one printout records them all.
What your score means
85% and above – a strong plan
This plan describes a person, keeps people safe and works in practice. Note the review date and move to the next one.
60% to 84% – needs a refresh
The bones are good but parts have drifted – usually the person section or the review dates. Book 20 minutes with the plan and your fix list.
Below 60% – rewrite territory
Quicker to rebuild than patch. Start from a conversation with the person and their family, and write the plan around what they tell you.
Care plan audits: your questions answered
What makes a care plan person-centred?
It describes a person, their preferences, routines and goals – not just a list of tasks. A good test: could someone who has never met the client read the plan and know what matters to them, how they like things done, and what a good day looks like? If the plan only says what carers do, it’s a task sheet.
How often should care plans be audited?
Most services audit a sample every month and every plan at least quarterly, plus a review after any significant change or incident. Little and often beats a marathon – this checklist takes about five minutes per plan, so a handful a week keeps the whole service current.
Who should do the audit?
Whoever audits quality in your service – but a second pair of eyes helps. A plan’s author fills gaps from memory without noticing. Asking a coordinator or senior carer who doesn’t know the client well is the closest thing to the inspector’s view.
Is this a CQC requirement?
Regular auditing is part of good governance, and inspectors routinely check that care plans are person-centred, current and reflected in practice. This checklist covers those themes, but it’s an internal aid – it isn’t produced by CQC and a good score isn’t a judgement about your rating.
What should I do with the results?
Fix the reds, diarise the ambers, and file the printout as your audit record. If the same gap appears across several plans – goals missing, reviews overdue – that’s a template or process fix, not a plan fix. Our free SMART goal builder helps with the goals gap in particular.
Is this checklist really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no email capture. Your answers stay on this page – nothing is saved or sent anywhere, and no client details are entered at any point. We make PASS, the care management platform, and free tools like this are our way of being useful to the sector.
Plans that match practice.
PASS links every care plan to the visits that deliver it, flags overdue reviews, and puts updates in every carer’s hand instantly. Take a free tour and see it with your own service in mind.
👉 Get started with PASSTrusted by 1,250+ home care providers nationwide.
