21 and 23 December 2015
During a routine inspection
This was an announced inspection which took place over two days, 21 and 23 December 2015. The last inspection took place in November 2013. The service was meeting the regulations in force at the time.
Inspired Care is a domiciliary care service that is registered for the regulated activity of personal care. The service provides care and support to people in their own homes in the Tyneside area. The care offered varied from short support visits to 24 hour care. A number of people were receiving end of life care.
There were three registered managers in post, two since 2012 and one since 2014. They had applied to reduce the number of registered managers to two. 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.
We found that people’s care was delivered safely and in a way of their choosing. People were supported in a manner that reflected their wishes and supported them to remain as independent as possible. Staff were aware of signs of potential safeguarding alerts and raised them with the service. The service had responded positively to recent whistle-blower’s raising concerns externally and internally.
People’s medicines were managed well. Staff watched for potential side effects and sought medical advice as needed when people’s conditions changed. People and their family carers were encouraged and supported to manage their own medicines if they wished to do so.
Staff felt they were well trained and encouraged to look for new ways to improve their work. Staff felt valued by senior staff and this was reflected in the way they talked about the service, the registered managers and the people they supported.
People who used the service were matched up with suitable staff to support their needs, and if people requested changes to staffing or hours these were usually facilitated quickly. People and relatives were complimentary of the service, and were included and involved by the staff and registered managers. They felt the service provided met their sometimes complex needs well.
There were high levels of contact between the staff and people, staff seeking feedback and offering support as people’s needs changed quickly. People and their relatives felt able to raise any questions or concerns with senior staff and felt these would be acted upon.
When people’s needs changed staff took action, seeking external professional help and incorporating any changes into care plans and their working practices. Staff worked to support people’s long term relationships and kept them involved in activities that mattered to them. Relatives thought that staff were open with them about issues and sought their advice and input regularly.
The registered managers were seen as reliable leaders, by both staff and people using the service. They were trusted and had created a strong sense of commitment to meeting people’s diverse needs, supporting staff and developing a better service.