January 5th 2026
Evidencing excellence: The IMPAQT for Care story
When care managers Rachael Ross and Zoe Duffy first sat down for coffee to reflect on their work with care providers in Bradford, they kept hearing the same story. Managers were doing incredible work but struggled to evidence it during CQC inspections.
“They were overwhelmed, struggling to document everything and demonstrate compliance,” Rachael recalls.
Zoe, then CEO of the Bradford Care Association and a Registered Manager of an Outstanding-rated care home, knew from experience how tough it could be. Together, she and Rachael began to wonder: what if there was a way to replicate Zoe’s tried and tested processes in a digital system that any provider could use?
That question became the starting point for IMPAQT for Care, a digital tool designed to give care providers confidence in governance, compliance and continuous improvement.
From idea to pilot
The journey was not straightforward. Neither Rachael nor Zoe had a background in software, so they commissioned developers to help build their vision.
“We were clear on what we wanted, but translating that into a system was challenging at first,” Rachael says. “There was a lot of back and forth. It took longer than expected, but once we piloted it with eight care homes in Bradford we started getting really valuable feedback.”
The local authority were quick to take interest too, recognising the potential of the system to improve quality across the area. By the end of the 12-month pilot in March 2023, managers were reporting that the tool gave them far greater confidence when preparing for CQC inspections.
Making compliance manageable
IMPAQT for Care is built to mirror CQC’s quality statements, guiding managers through self-assessment audits, evidence collation and action planning. If a gap is identified, it creates a plan and tracks progress. If standards are being met, evidence is uploaded into a central file, ready to be shared with CQC.
The system also takes care of everyday oversight. Notifications flag when appraisals, supervisions, DBS checks or training are due. Incidents and accidents can be logged and tracked to identify patterns and themes. Managers are encouraged to start with the “Well-Led” and “Safe” domains, but the platform can be adapted for a wide range of services from residential care and nursing homes.
“Our goal was to make life easier for care providers,” Rachael explains. “The system cuts down duplication so teams can spend less time on paperwork and more time on care.”
Built with security at the core
From the outset, Rachael and Zoe knew they were dealing with sensitive information. They worked closely with their developers, to build role-based permissions into the system. That means managers can decide who has access to which areas, ensuring staff only see what is relevant to their role.
The platform is password protected and fully compliant with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and Cyber Essentials.
“We were already familiar with data protection in care, but building a digital system made us think more broadly about risks,” Rachael says. “We wanted to be absolutely confident that people’s information was safe.”
Lessons from the journey
Looking back, Rachael is open about the challenges:
“We didn’t have the expertise at first. If you’re a care provider thinking about building your own system, my advice would be to get specialist support. It’s all the same reasons you want to be compliant in your care business, only more so with a digital system. You do not want to put anyone at risk.”
To strengthen their digital expertise, IMPAQT for Care partnered with Promatica Health & Care, a company experienced in health and care technology. This collaboration has helped with development, promotion and scaling the system across the sector.
The effort has not gone unnoticed. IMPAQT for Care was recently recognised with the Bradford District and Craven Health and Social Care Partnership Award for Best Innovation in the Independent Care Sector.
What’s next?
As the system continues to grow, Rachael and Zoe are focused on making it accessible to more types of services, including home care and supported living. With an API* (Application Programming Interface) already in place for Person Centred Software Care Planning Tool and an upload facility to share data with Skills for Care’s ASC-WDS, compatibility with other systems and integration is high on the agenda. Once CQC’s new portal is up and running effectively, Rachael and Zoe hope to connect via an API to facilitate reporting to CQC.
Ultimately, IMPAQT for Care is about giving care providers confidence. By making compliance clearer and evidence easier to manage, it frees managers and their teams to do what matters most: providing safe, high-quality care.
More information
Visit IMPAQT for Care website
Or email Rachael at [email protected]
*An Application Programming Interface is like a bridge that lets two different software systems talk to each other. For example, allowing IMPAQT for Care to connect their system to share data directly with Person Centred Software.
This case study is part of our new Digital Care in Focus series. Our first monthly focus, launched in January 2026, is on Innovation.
Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash
View all case studies