Archived: Support In Mind Team

Support in Mind Team is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to seven people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider did not ensure systems were in place to effectively oversee the service. Quality checks had not been routinely completed. Accidents and incidents were not always reviewed promptly, and action was not always taken to prevent a re-occurrence. Some people’s care plans and risk assessments had not been recently reviewed.

Relatives spoke extremely positively about the service provided. They were happy with call times and said people were supported by the same staff. They said people felt safe and told us staff were exceptionally caring. One relative said, “Staff are always, brilliant, kind and understanding.”

People’s care needs were assessed. They received appropriate support with their nutrition and health needs. Medicines were managed safely. People were supported in a warm and caring way by staff who knew them well. Staff spoke passionately about offering person centred care to people.

Staff asked people for consent before providing any care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff encouraged people to make decisions about their own care, and promoted people’s rights to dignity, independence and privacy.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 15 January 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services which have had a recent Direct Monitoring Approach (DMA) assessment where no further action was needed to seek assurance about this decision and to identify learning about the DMA process.

The overall rating for the service has changed from outstanding to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report..

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Support in Mind Team on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

The Support in Mind team is a domiciliary care service providing predominantly short-term care and support to people living with dementia or other mental health issues in their own homes. The service was providing personal care to ten people at the time of the inspection.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The Support in Mind team excelled in gaining the confidence of and supporting people who had previously refused intervention from health and social care professionals.

People were extremely positive about the service and told us they would have no hesitation in recommending it. People unanimously described the service as ‘outstanding’.

People were supported by staff who were exceptionally kind and caring. Staff were dedicated to ensuring people experienced the best possible care and support.

We found many examples of staff going the extra mile to make sure people experienced exceptional care and support. This had resulted in people being able to live independently in their own homes when health and social care professionals had not thought this possible.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's needs were assessed. From the outset people were involved in planning how their support needs would be met and in setting goals to help them become as independent as possible. This meant people received entirely person centred care.

The leadership of the service was excellent. The management team put the delivery of high quality, highly individual and safe support at the centre of everything they did.

The management team were passionate about the service and were continuously looking at ways to improve people's experiences. They worked in partnership with other health and social care agencies to make sure people received the support they needed to fulfil their potential and maintain their independence.

The service had excellent quality assurance and monitoring systems to ensure people received safe care and treatment. These systems meant the management team were able to identify any areas where improvements could be made.

People told us the service was safe. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns about people's safety and welfare. Robust recruitment procedures helped to protect people against the risk of being supported by unsuitable staff.

Family members said they had complete confidence in the service making sure their relatives were safe. One said, “I have absolute peace of mind". Risks to people safety and welfare were identified and managed.

The management team had dedicated a lot of time and resources to staff training and development. Staff told us they were very proud to work for the service and felt extremely well supported in their roles. They said they would recommend it to family and friends who needed care and as a place to work.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This was the first inspection of this service since it’s registration in November 2018.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.