North STSS (Short Term Support Service) Berwick

Updated 6 September 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 18 July 2023 and ended on 20 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 19 July 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We requested feedback from local commissioning and other partners and reviewed information we already held about the service.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 5 members of staff, including the registered manager, deputy manager and regional manager. We contacted a further 8 reablement staff by email.

We also spoke with 4 people using the service and 5 relatives. We contacted 2 health and social care professionals.

During our visit we looked at care records, medication records, staff recruitment records, supervision and competence documentation, training records, and the policies and procedures used by the provider.

Updated 6 September 2023

About the service

North STSS (Short Term Support Service) Berwick is provided by Northumberland County Council. It provides three distinct services: reablement, crisis intervention and a 'bridging' service, when people are awaiting longer-term care packages. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing care and support to 18 people in their own homes.

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

People experienced consistent, effective and safe care from reablement staff.

The provider had a range of systems and processes in place to monitor and mitigate risk. Records were accurate and reviewed regularly. Specific risks to people were assessed and staff understood them well.

The culture was an open one in which people and staff were safe and well-supported. There was a proactive approach to working with external partners and this had an impact on the health and wellbeing outcomes people experienced.

The registered manager had been at the service for 3 months and had made good progress in that time; they understood the service well and had made positive links inside and outside the service.

The registered manager involved people who used the service and their relatives through regular care plan reviews and surveys. People, relatives, external professionals and staff all spoke highly of the service and the new registered manager.

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.

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 outstanding (report published 18 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the time that had passed since our last inspection.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained outstanding based on the findings of this inspection and existing ratings of key questions.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for North STSS (Short Term Support Service) Berwick on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.