Archived: Cumbria-DeafVision

Cumbria-DeafVision is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to adults with a range of health issues in their own homes, predominantly those with a hearing impairment. 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. At the time of the inspection three people were supported in this way.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely. Risk assessments were not always in place and therefore staff did not have all the information necessary to minimise risk. Accidents and incident learning was not always shared.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff always supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. However, the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice and records of mental capacity assessments and best interests decisions were not always in place.

Quality checks were not robust and had not identified the issues we found. The manager and board of trustees responded to our feedback and took steps to make improvements straight away, including sending us an action plan of how they were going to do this.

Care records needed to be reviewed to ensure they were accurate and up to date. Whilst some care plans were very detailed, others contained limited information or were missing detail.

There were enough staff on duty and people were supported to eat and drink sufficiently.

People received care from kind and compassionate staff, although we did receive one concern which was going to be investigated by management. Staff knew people well and provided support which met people’s needs. People were respected and encouraged to be as independent as possible and staff maintained their dignity.

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 good (published 22 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified two breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Cumbria-DeafVision is the working name for Cumbria Deaf Association which is a registered charity. It is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide a domiciliary care service to people with a sensory impairment. The support workers assist service users with all aspects of their daily life, including shopping, work placements and social and leisure activities. The office is situated near the centre of Carlisle. At the time of our inspection there were two people who were in receipt of personal care from the agency.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We found that the registered manager worked part time hours with the Chief Executive Officer covering for her non-working hours. We recommended that this be addressed as soon as possible.

We found that the service was safe and members of the staff team were aware of their role and responsibility to keep people safe. There were sufficient staff to provide the appropriate level of care and support.

The provider had robust recruitment policies and procedures which ensured only suitable people were employed to care for vulnerable people, some having complex needs. Staff training was up to date and the staff were able to support people with more complex needs. All staff had been trained in the use of British Sign Language (BSL) so they were able to communicate effectively with the people they supported. Support staff received regular supervision and appraisal that ensured good work practices were maintained.

People received the support they required to eat and drink and to maintain their health. Health care needs were met by external health care professionals such as district nurses, consultants and GP practices.

People were included in all decisions about their care and their rights were respected. The service followed the requirements of the Mental capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who may not be able to make important decisions for themselves.

Staff treated people with kindness and consideration ensuring their privacy and dignity were respected. Staff had formed close relationships with the people they supported.

The use of an advocacy service was available if this was required. People were involved in the care planning process and gave their consent to the care and support provided. People were encouraged to take part in activities in the local community. The registered provider had a procedure for receiving and handling complaints about the service. This was an informal quality monitoring system in place through regular reviews of the service provided.