Connect 2 Flexicare Head Office

Connect 2 Flexicare Head Office is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people being supported by the service. The service is also registered to provide the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury. However, at the time of the inspection this activity was not carried out.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence, and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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. However, we have made a recommendation about records relating to decisions made in people’s best interests.

We had some concerns about the provider’s compliance in reporting certain events to us. However, we fully explored this and found the provider demonstrated an understanding of what and when needed to be reported to us. However, we have made a recommendation about records relating to decisions about safeguarding concerns.

People and their relatives were treated with dignity and respect. Staff were described as kind and caring. Comments from relatives included, “Their kindness and affection extends to us as a whole family, they are just so personal” and “The main group of carers we have are really good and caring, they have [name of person] best interests at heart.”

People were supported by staff who were recruited safely and had training to meet their needs. Relatives told us they and the person being supported felt safe with the staff. One relative told us, “They have really respected our need for a core team of the same staff. It is so important that [name of person] has consistent care because it could affect her life and prognosis and they’ve done that and kept it up for 2 years. They’re excellent. No, I can’t think of anything I’m unhappy with.”

The service worked well with other social and healthcare professionals and promoted individual rights of people. One relative told us, “The management of the service do listen and the react immediately.” Another relative told us, “I honestly can’t praise them enough. Sometimes there’ll be an emergency and they deal with it brilliantly and are so flexible. If we have meetings, they are always done in a personal way and they always listen to us.”

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 good (published 13 March 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staff training and competency. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

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

Follow up

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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, and children. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 16 people.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

Relatives we spoke with told us they felt their family member was safe and well cared for. One relative told us, “I’m really pleased, I don’t wake up in the morning and worry who is there with [mum]. Another relative commented, “So far we have found it good. [She] is very happy.” Staff told us the service was good to work for. One member of staff said, “If there are any issues the registered manager will come out to the clients house and sort them out there and then.”

Professionals we spoke with told us the service was professional and friendly and that the service communicates openly and engage with people and professionals very well. Thy added they provide holistic care and go the extra mile to ensure the comfort of people using the service.

Staff received training in safeguarding. They told us they would not hesitate to report any concerns they had. We were told that there was an on call system and someone was always at the end of the phone if staff wanted to discuss anything.

We did not see that supervisions were being carried out on a regular basis. However, staff told us they felt supported and could always speak to the registered manager at any time. We discussed this with the registered manager during our visit. They told us they will ensure formal supervisions take place and documentation provided to evidence this.

Safe recruitment procedures were carried out. Files we saw contained relevant documentation required to ensure only suitable staff were appointed. Staff received appropriate induction, training and support. Mandatory training was completed by new staff before they were able to support people. Following this the member of staff worked alongside an experienced member of staff until they felt confident to work alone. The registered manager introduced new members of staff to the people they would be supporting prior to any planned visits.

Medicines were managed safely; we saw staff completed charts correctly. The registered manager carried out regular spot checks to ensure staff were competent and followed correct procedures in line with the services policies and procedures.

Complaints were responded to and used as a way of improving the quality of the service. We saw evidence of complaints being responded to in a timely manner.

The service had effective monitoring systems in place to drive improvements and ensure the safety of people using the service.

People had access to healthcare services to maintain good health. People were supported to attend appointments when required. 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.