Archived: Unicorn1care Ltd

Unicorn1care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care and support to people 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. At the time of our inspection there were 27 older people receiving support with a regulated activity.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely. We found some inaccuracies in medicine administration records. However, we did not find evidence that anyone had been harmed.

Quality assurance processes had been improved since our last inspection. However, further improvement is needed in medicines auditing.

People we spoke with were complimentary about the care provided by Unicorn1care Ltd. People told us that they were supported by regular care workers, who knew them well and supported them in the way they wished.

Staff recruitment procedures were robust and there were enough staff to care for people safely.

Correct infection control procedures were followed and staff wore the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) when carrying out care tasks. Additional infection control measures had been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep people safe.

Care records were detailed and provided staff with sufficient person-centred information to enable them to support people appropriately.

We received positive feedback about the management and leadership of the service from everybody we spoke with, including staff, people using the service and relatives.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (report published 18 April 2019).

Why we inspected

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on requirement and warning notices and to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Unicorn1care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.

We have identified a continued breach in relation to the management of medicines. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of safety in medicines management. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Unicorn1care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 23 people were using the service. Of those 23 people, 17 received personal care and the remainder received help in the home or companionship services. We only looked at the service for people receiving personal care as this is the activity that is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

People's experience of using this service:

People who received care from Unicorn1care Ltd told us they felt safe and supported by staff who visited them. Staff were punctual and consistent at carrying out visits with people in a person-centred manner. People were supported to continue living at home in a way that enabled them to be as independent as possible.

The registered manager had not ensured that certain areas of the service were always safe. We found that medicines were not always managed safely because records were not always correct or audited.

Recruitment checks of new staff had not been completed consistently. One staff member had not been recruited safely in line with the requirements of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 Schedule 3.

Not all people's care plans were person-centred. Care records documenting people's long-term conditions such as diabetes was limited. We have made a recommendation that the provider seeks guidance and advice from a reputable source, in relation to personalised care planning

We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We found the service ensured staff received training in respect of the MCA. However, we found consent forms were signed by family members of the people who lack the appropriate authority.

People and relatives described staff as caring and kind towards them. Staff were approachable and friendly with people they cared for and knew them well.

Staff enjoyed working at the service and said the registered manager and team leaders were approachable.

We identified two breaches of the regulations. Safe recruitment practices were not always followed and governance systems were not effective. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was first registered with the CQC in May 2018. This was our first inspection of this service.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection in line with CQC’s guidelines to inspect all new services within 12 months of registration.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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