Personalised Support Team - Nottingham

Updated 23 September 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 4 July 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice of our visit, because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in the location offices when we visited. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience, who carried out telephone interviews. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

We requested feedback from local care commissioners and Healthwatch Derbyshire, who are an independent organisation that represents people using health and social care services. Commissioners work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority or by a health clinical commissioning group.

We checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider. We looked at notifications sent to us by the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We asked the provider to send us a Provider Information Return (PIR) and this was submitted. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with five people who used services and six relatives. We also spoke with three care support workers, one team leader (quality supervisor) and the registered manager. We also looked at documentation, which included three people’s care plans, incorporating comprehensive risk assessments, as well as two staff training files and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 23 September 2017

Personalised Support Team – Nottingham provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. This is the first inspection of the service since it was registered on 12 April 2015.

We carried out this inspection on 4 July 2017. It was an announced inspection, which meant the provider knew we would be visiting. This was because we wanted to make sure the registered manager, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to talk with us.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

Staff were appropriately recruited, trained and supported. They had undergone a comprehensive induction programme and, where necessary, had received additional training specific to the needs of the people they were supporting. Communication was effective and regular meetings were held to discuss issues and share best practice. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and spoke enthusiastically about the work they did and the people they cared for.

The provider had detailed policies and procedures relating to medicines management. Staff understanding and competency regarding the management of medicines was subject to regular monitoring checks and medicines training was updated appropriately.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service and used effective systems for gaining consent. Individual care plans, based on a full assessment of need, were in place detailing how people wished to be supported. This helped ensure that personal care was provided in a structured and consistent manner. Risk assessments were also in place to effectively identify and manage potential risks.

Where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions the home was guided by the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to ensure any decisions were made in the person’s best interests.

Systems were in place to effectively monitor the safety and quality of the service and to gather the views and experiences of people and their relatives. The service was flexible and responded positively to people’s changing needs and any issues or concerns raised. People and their relatives told us they were confident that any concerns they might have would be listened to, taken seriously and acted upon.