Archived: Trustcare

Updated 28 April 2018

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.

We visited the provider's offices on 22 February 2018 and made phone calls to people, relatives, staff and health professionals between the 22 and 28 February 2018. The inspection was announced. The provider was given a short amount of notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the manager was available.

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an inspection manager. An expert by experience made telephone contact with people who used the service. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

During the visit to the provider's office we looked at the care records of four people who used the service, staff recruitment files as well as training records and other records relating to the day to day running of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, team leader and three support workers.

During and after the visit to the provider's offices we carried out telephone interviews with eight people who used the service and three relatives. We spoke with seven care workers both over the telephone and in person.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included looking at information we had received about the service and statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us. We also contacted the Local Authority Commissioning Unit.

We also asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. The registered provider returned the PIR in a timely manner.

Updated 28 April 2018

This inspection took place on 22 February 2018 and was announced. The provider was given short notice of our intention to inspect the service. This is in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies to make sure the registered manager would be available. This was the first inspection of the service since re-registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Trustcare is a mobile response service delivered on behalf of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Trustcare offers a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year monitoring and emergency response service to elderly and vulnerable customers; enabling them to live independently and securely in their own homes. In the event of an emergency call raised from a person’s home a mobile response team is sent to provide immediate assistance. Trustcare vehicles are equipped with specialist falls equipment to assist customers who have fallen if they are not injured.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

People and relatives spoke highly of the personalised service provided by the Trustcare team of care staff. They said staff arrived on time and stayed the full length of the call. They described staff as wonderful, brilliant, caring and gentle. They said staff were patient and didn't rush, giving them time to do things at their own pace. People's privacy and dignity was respected.

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.

The staff look at the care records completed by other care providers and don’t visit people on a regular basis. Risk assessments showed any identified risks had been assessed.

People we spoke with raised no concerns but knew the processes to follow if they had any complaints and were confident these would be dealt with.

Staff told us the induction and shadowing process was thorough and prepared them for their roles. We saw staff received the training and support they required to meet people's needs. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding.

People, relatives and staff praised the service. They told us communication was good. We saw systems were in place to monitor the quality of service delivery

People, relatives and staff all said they would recommend the service to other people.