Background to this inspection
Updated
1 February 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was conducted by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses.
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. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We requested and received feedback from other stakeholders. These included the local authority safeguarding team and commissioning team and Healthwatch Leeds. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection, we spoke with one person using the service and four relatives of people using the service. We spoke with nine staff members; this included the registered manager, nurses, client managers, resource coordinators and care workers. We received feedback from one healthcare professional who worked closely with the service. We looked at care records for four people using the service including medicine administration records. We looked at training, recruitment and supervision records for three staff. We also looked at various policies and procedures and reviewed the quality assurance and monitoring systems of the service.
After the inspection
We received an email from the registered manager with additional evidence. This information was used as part of our inspection. We looked at policies and procedures, team meetings minutes and feedback from people, relatives and healthcare professionals.
Updated
1 February 2020
About the service
Interserve Healthcare - Yorkshire is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults and children with complex health conditions and learning disabilities, living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. During our first inspection visit, the service was caring for 32 people and 31 on our second inspection visit.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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. Improvements were required in how the provider was recording relevant discussions and decisions about the care of people who lacked capacity to make decisions. We have made a recommendation for the provider to always complete these records and to consult relevant guidance and best practice in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Staff provided people with a safe service. Accidents and incidents were recorded, investigated and analysed by the registered manager and changes implemented when required.
Risk assessments were in place to identify and manage risks to people and staff. There was after-hours support to assist staff when working on their own and out of office hours. Staff were knowledgeable about identifying and reporting safeguarding concerns.
Medication was administered safely.
People received support to maintain good nutrition and hydration and their healthcare needs were understood, met and relevant records kept. The provider kept in close contact with relevant healthcare professionals.
The service continued to have a positive impact on people’s lives. We received positive feedback from people using the service, their relatives and healthcare professionals about staff being kind and “going the extra mile”.
The provider was caring for people with very complex health conditions. Their care plans were detailed, and person centred; these were updated when required.
Complaints were well managed, and people and family members were confident that their complaint would be listened to and acted upon quickly.
There was an open and person-centred culture in the organisation. Staff enjoyed working for the provider and told us they felt well supported by a regular programme of training, assessment of competencies and supervision.
There were effective quality assurance processes in place that allowed management to keep an appropriate oversight of the care delivered, as well as implement and plan any improvements required. We received positive feedback about the registered manager being approachable and changes they had introduced.
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 requires improvement (published in 24 January 2019).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.