Background to this inspection
Updated
9 February 2022
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 carried out by one inspector and one 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 houses and flats.
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
This inspection was unannounced.
Inspection activity started on 7th December 2021 and ended on 29th December 2021. We visited the office location on 7th December 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We included information we received from the service as part of our recent monitoring activity. We sought feedback from the local authority and 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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and ten relatives by telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the operations manager, the registered manager, the administrator and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We made calls to speak with care staff. We looked at call monitoring information, training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
9 February 2022
About the service
Universal Care Services Corby is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. There were 88 people using this service at the time of our inspection.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements had been made to people receiving care at planned times, however, some risks remained. Some people had experienced improvements to the timeliness of their care calls; other people still experienced variations. The provider’s call monitoring records showed us that people were not receiving care calls to their commissioned length of time. The provider had recognised these issues and had started taking steps to improve.
People were supported by staff who knew them, had appropriate training and who had been safely recruited. We signposted the registered manager to good practice in relation to the frequency of staff competency checks.
People were protected from the risk of abuse. There were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from potential harm. Staff completed training about safeguarding adults from harm. People and relatives said they felt safe with the staff.
Staff followed all necessary infection prevention measures. Staff wore appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and received training in infection prevention and control.
People told us they had been involved in care planning and care plans reflected people's individual needs and choices. The provider had sufficient systems and oversight to assess, monitor and mitigate the risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of people. The provider was in the process of updating people’s care plans to make them more robust.
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; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff understood consent and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.
People were supported to meet their nutritional and hydration needs, medicines were safely managed, and staff contacted healthcare professionals when required.
People were able to feedback their views on the service. People, relatives and staff all knew how to complain and the majority reported their concerns were acted upon.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update: The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 17 November 2020). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations, however this service has now been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections.
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to staffing issues. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has remained the same, requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Universal Care Services Corby on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme, or if we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.