Radis Community Care (Live-in Services)

Updated 22 May 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector 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. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults which includes people with complex care needs. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people using the service.

This service also provides care and support for up to four people living in supported living setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. At the time of the inspection there were three people living in the supported living setting.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available.

Inspection activity started on 16 April and ended on 29 April 2019. It included telephone calls to people and relatives to gain feedback about the service and telephone calls to staff who provided support to people. We visited the office location on 19 April 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We used the information we held about the service to formulate our planning tool. This included notifications about events that had happened at the service, which the provider was required to send us by law. For example, safeguarding concerns, serious injuries and deaths that had occurred at the service. We contacted professionals who were involved in people’s lives to gain their experience of the service.

We spoke with three people who used the service and nine relatives to gain their experiences of the service provided. We spoke with four members of staff and the registered manager.

We viewed two people’s care records to confirm what people and staff had told us. We also looked at documents that showed how the registered manager monitored and managed the service. Recruitment and training records were viewed to ensure the staff employed at the service were suitable.

Updated 22 May 2019

About the service:

Radis Community Care (Specialist Services) is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to 17 people in their own homes. This included a live-in service, where people received 24-hour support and a complex care service providing clinical care. The service had recently opened a supported living service for up to four people, which was occupied by three people at the time of the inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by safely recruited staff, who had the skills and knowledge to provide effective support. There were enough staff available to provide consistent care and to meet people’s needs. Medicines were managed safely, and staff followed infection control procedures.

Effective care planning and risk management was in place which guided staff to provide support that met people’s needs and in line with their preferences. People were supported to have control over their lives.

People were supported by caring staff who promoted choices in a way that people understood, this meant people had control and choice over their lives. Staff provided dignified care and respected people’s privacy.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care. Staff used care plans to ensure they provided support in line with people’s wishes. This ensured people received personalised care in line with their preferences and diverse needs.

Systems were in place to monitor the service, which ensured people’s risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service, where complaints were acted on and improvements made. People and staff could approach the management team who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to the way care was delivered.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is available in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first ratings inspection.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection to assess whether the provider was meeting the required standards and to provide a rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.