Tutelacare

Updated 19 August 2023

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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care 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

This inspection was announced. 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the offices of this service. We spoke with the nominated individual and the registered manager. We inspected 1 person’s care files and 2 staff files. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with 1 person who used the service and their relative on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 19 August 2023

About the service:

Tutelacare is a newly registered [July 2022] domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. At the time of the inspection it provided a service for 4 people but only one person received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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.

At the time of this inspection the nominated individual and the registered manager were the only staff employed by the provider and they provided the support to the 1 person who used the service. In this report we have used the term ‘staff’ to represent the nominated individual and the registered manager and ‘people’ for the 1 person and their relative using the service.

People's experience of using this service and what we found:

The person using the service and their relative [people] said communications from the office were good. They said they were informed if the senior managers [staff] were going to be late or if the person’s care needs changed.

People told us they felt safe and were protected from the risk of abuse. The service had appropriate safeguarding procedures. Staff told us they received regular training and they knew how to safeguard people from abuse and the processes that should be followed where concerns arose.

Risk assessments and risk management strategies were in place as part of the assessment and support planning process. This meant risks to people and to staff were minimised.

There were robust recruitment practices in place and sufficient staff levels to meet people's needs.

There were appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure people received their medicines safely. At the time of this inspection people did not receive assistance with this. However appropriate training was available for staff on the safe administration of medicines. This together with appropriate supervision and monitoring meant when required people received their medicines safely and staff had clear guidance to follow.

The provider had ensured that appropriate training and supervision was available for staff. This included understanding and how to manage best practice for infection control and the use of PPE.

There were systems in place to ensure that accidents, incidents and risks were appropriately recorded and included details of preventive strategies used by the service to reduce the likelihood of events occurring in the future.

Assessments were thorough and expected outcomes were identified. Support plans were reviewed and updated as people’s needs changed.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and were able to identify their likes and dislikes. They were supported to eat and drink according to their dietary requirements taking into consideration their preferences.

People told us they received good quality care from kind and caring staff. They said their care was delivered by regular staff and this provided the consistency and continuity they needed. They told us they were treated with dignity and respect. They told us staff had the right skills to deliver appropriate care and support.

Staff were able to communicate with people well.

People were confident that any concerns would be addressed appropriately and resolved by the registered manager. They told us the registered manager welcomed feedback.

People told us they thought the service was well led and that they were very happy with the support they received.

There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people which ensured good governance. The service had systems in place to notify the appropriate authorities where concerns were identified. The culture of the service was positive, open and person centred.

Due to the service currently only supporting one person we were unable to rate the service because there was insufficient evidence available for us to do so. The registered manager told us they were hoping to expand the service and provide support to more people which would enable us to rate the service at the next inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection and update:

This service was registered with us on 07 July 2022 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up:

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