Archived: About Me Care and Support

Updated 24 August 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 checked 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.

This announced inspection took place between 6 and 8 August 2018. It was undertaken by one inspector.

We gave the provider five days' notice as the service is small and we needed to be sure they were in. This was also because some of the people using the service lived some distance from the service’s head office.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least annually. This provides us with information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to assist us with the planning of this inspection.

We also looked at other information we held about the service. This included information from notifications the provider sent to us. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send to us by law, such as incidents or allegations of harm. We looked at responses to our survey questionnaire we had received from people, staff and health professionals. We used this information to help us make a judgement on the care people received.

Prior to our inspection we contacted the local safeguarding authority and commissioners of the service to ask them about their views of the service. These organisation's views helped us to plan our inspection.

On the 6 August 2018 we spoke with three people, the head of care, the contracts' officer and three care staff. We also visited the provider's office. We looked at care documentation for four people using the service and their medicines' administration records. We also looked at two new staff files, staff training and supervision planning records and other records relating to the management of the service. These included records associated with audit and quality assurance, accidents and incidents and compliments. On the 7 and 8 August we spoke with one relative and staff.

Updated 24 August 2018

About Me Care and Support is registered to provide personal care and this is for people who live at home. The people receiving the care live with hearing and seeing difficulties. At the time of our inspection there were seven people using the agency.

At the last inspection in February 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

This comprehensive inspection took place between the 6 and 8 August 2018 and was announced.

A registered manager was not in post at the time of the inspection. The previous registered manager had left on 12 July 2018. At the time of our inspection a new manager was in the process of applying to become a registered manager. In the meantime, day to day activities at the agency were managed by a service manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the agency. 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 agency is run.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. This service also provides care and support to people living in one 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. It provides a service to older people, people with sensory impairment and younger adults.

Not everyone using About Me Care and Support receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People continued to receive a safe service. Staff with the right skills continued to be recruited in a safe way. Sufficient staff were in post to keep people safe. Medicines were administered and managed safely. Risk were identified and managed to keep people as safe as practicable. Accidents and incidents were monitored and where necessary actions taken to prevent them from reoccurring.

People continued to receive an effective service. Staff continued to receive updates to their training and other training to ensure they had the right skills for their job. 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. People were supported to eat and drink well and they were enabled to access health care services. The service worked together with other organisations and this helped ensure peoples care was coordinated.

People continued to receive a caring service. People received care from staff who treated them with compassion, consideration and kindness. Staff showed people the respect they deserved. Advocacy was provided to people when this was required. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and promoted. People were not discriminated against no matter what their needs were. People’s care plans had been developed with as much of the person’s involvement as practicable.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People’s individual care needs were met by staff who understood people’s communication skills. Concerns were acted upon before they became a complaint. Technology was used to enhance people’s lives and independence. Systems were in place to support people should they ever need end of life care and support.

People continued to receive a well-led service. Staff with a management role led by example and fostered a staff team culture that was open and honest. The provider took account of their responsibilities by correctly reporting events they were required to and correctly displaying their previous inspection rating. Staff received the support they needed. Quality assurance, governance and audit systems were effective in identifying and sustaining improvements. People, relatives and staff had a say in how the service was run.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.