You & I Care - Mid Surrey

Updated 26 March 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a care at home agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 February 2022 and ended on 21 February 2022. We visited the location’s office on 11 February 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it first registered with CQC. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager, care coordinator and carer. We reviewed a range of records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed three people’s care records including medication administration records (MARs). A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 26 March 2022

About the service

You & I Care – Mid Surrey is a care at home agency providing care to people in their own homes. The service is registered to provide personal care to older people, people living with sensory impairments, mental health needs, dementia, and physical and learning disabilities. 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. There were three people receiving the regulated activity personal care at the time of the inspection.

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

People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt safe from abuse when being supported by staff. People told us they had not experienced missed care visits and that staff attended in the agreed timeframes. Risks associated with people’s care were assessed appropriately. People’s medicines were recorded electronically, and the provider regularly audited these to ensure people were receiving their medicines on time.

Staff told us they had sufficient time to travel between visits and they had received relevant training in relation to their role. Staff told us they felt encouraged to undertake further training and that they had received regular supervisions where progression was discussed. Staff competency checks were undertaken to ensure staff had the skills required to support people. The feedback we received from people reflected this.

We observed staff following infection prevention and control guidance in relation to COVID-19 whilst in the office. People told us staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately when they undertook care visits.

People and their relatives told us staff were kind, caring and respectful towards them. Staff encouraged and supported people to be as independent as possible. People’s care plans provided staff with the information required to support people effectively.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided and action was taken where areas of improvement were identified. People, their relatives and staff knew how to complain and told us they felt confident the provider would listen to their concerns and address these.

People, their relatives and staff told us they felt the service was well-led and encouraged people to be engaged and involved in their 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.

Although the service was not providing care to anyone with a learning disability, we expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support: Model of care and setting maximised people’s choice, control and independence;

People told us they knew when to expect visits and that visits respected their preferred times. People were supported to live in their own homes and told us that staff supported them to remain in their homes when their care needs changed to ensure they were able to retain their independence. This included ensuring people were supported to contact healthcare professionals and to do their shopping at short notice.

Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights;

People and their relatives told us staff were respectful, caring and understanding around people’s emotional and physical needs. People told us they were treated in a dignified manner that respected their human rights and that they were supported with their cultural and religious needs. Staff had completed training for learning disabilities and equality and diversity. People told us they were involved in their care planning and that they were in control of how they wished to be supported. Where people were unable to use standard texts, the provider had looked at ways to ensure information was accessible.

Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives;

The culture of the service was open and empowered individuals to express their views and be in control of their lives with the support of staff. People and their relatives told us they felt confident to approach the management team and that their suggestions would be listened to. Staff told us they felt supported by the management to continuously learn and develop their skills.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 December 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service first registered with us.

Follow up

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