Archived: Reed Specialist Recruitment Limited - Cambridge

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 our inspection 3 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

Risk assessments were completed to keep people safe, although not all staff had followed the guidance to ensure people were kept safe.

People received safe support from staff who received appropriate training. The provider had a robust recruitment process in place. Relatives told us people received good support and care by staff. However, one person did not always receive enough staff to support them outside. Accidents and incidents were monitored to ensure appropriate actions were taken.

Staff promoted people’s choice and independence. People were involved with decisions about their care and support. Staff understood the importance of infection control.

Relatives confirmed staff were kind, caring and compassionate. People had the opportunity to express their views and had developed caring relationships with staff. People had access to other professionals to ensure their health needs were met.

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. People told us they were provided with good day to day support with such areas as health needs and accessing the community to follow their interests.

People’s care was arranged in response to their identified needs. This was kept under review and updated as and when needed.

The management team carried out regular checks and monitoring of the service.

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

The last rating for this service was good. (last report published 9 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

The agency has a registered manager 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 aware of safeguarding people from the risk of abuse and they knew how to report concerns to the relevant agencies. They assessed individual risks to people and took action to reduce or remove them. There was adequate servicing and maintenance checks to equipment to ensure people’s safety.

People felt safe receiving care and staff supported them in a way that they preferred. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs, which allowed staff to spend additional time with people if needed. Recruitment checks for new staff members had been made before they started work to make sure they were safe to work within care.

People received their medicines when they needed them, and staff members who administered medicines had been trained to do this safely. Staff members received other training, which provided them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles. Staff received adequate support from the registered manager and senior staff, which they found helpful.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported people so that they received enough food and drink to meet their needs. Information was available for staff members about health professionals involved in people’s care and staff worked with them to make sure people received the care they needed.

Staff were caring, kind, respectful and courteous. Staff members knew people well, what they liked and how they wanted to be treated. They responded to people’s needs well and support was always available. Care plans contained enough information to support individual people with their needs. People were happy using the service and staff supported them to be as independent as possible.

A complaints procedure was available and people knew how to and who to go to, to make a complaint. The registered manager was supportive and approachable, and people or other staff members could speak with them at any time.

Good leadership was in place and the registered manager and provider monitored care and other records to assess the risks to people. This ensured that these were reduced as much as possible and improved the quality of the care provided.