Care Quality Services IOW

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider did not always make sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and decide, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. Not all care plans included individual or personalised information some had very general information. For example, a person living with dementia who lacked capacity, there was limited information in care plan about the person’s preferences, but staff knew about her likes and dislikes and how to communicate with her. A person told us, “I have a care plan in a folder on the table, but nobody ever looks at it. Some of it is wrong and repeated but the care I get physically is correct, the care plan just needs altering.” Therefore, if staff had not attended previously and did not know people they would not have all necessary information to provide person-centred care. A person told us, “I feel there are restrictions on my care because they [care staff] don’t know what to do half the time.”

Most people were funded via the local authority. The registered manager described how they had some flexibility to provide short term/emergency increases in care packages and then get the funding approval. This meant there was no delay in people receiving additional care where required.

There were some shortfalls in how the provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was not always joined-up, flexible or supportive of choice and continuity. We received mixed views from people and staff about the continuity of care staff. Some people reported a high level of staff continuity whilst others reported having a lot of different staff and inconsistency in the timing of care calls. This was reflected in records viewed which showed a high number of different staff attending some people and variation of call times. External professionals said there was sometimes a delay in getting responses from the management team which could affect continuity of care and commencement of new care packages.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. People's communication needs were identified during their initial assessment and care records provided information about what people's communication requirements were. Some people and family members identified communication issues with some care staff who they found did not fully understand them or who they did not understand.

People and family members were provided with written information in a folder left in people’s homes. This included for example information about the service and how to contact the office or the out of hours support service.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. The provider had a complaints procedure in place with people and family members provided with information as to how to complain via the service folder left within their homes. People and family members were also able to raise concerns via surveys or during visits to them by senior staff for care reviews/field supervisions of care staff. There was a process to record and investigate concerns and complaints.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Discussions with the registered manager and office staff showed they understood how to access specialist health or social care support or equipment should this be required.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. Care staff had completed a range of training including equality and diversity, mental health, dementia and learning disabilities training. People and family members did not identify any concerns about discrimination or protected characteristics.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Care Quality Services IOW could provide end of life care where this became appropriate. The registered manager described how they would link with the local hospice and community nurses to help ensure people received all necessary support.

Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission of certain events including deaths of people they are caring for. A review of notifications indicated people received appropriate support as they approached the end of their lives. These notifications also indicted that it was known if prior resuscitation decisions were in place.