We carried out a review of the data available to us about Your Care Services Brain Injury Specialists on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Your Care Services Brain Injury Specialists, you can give feedback on this service.
Your Care Services is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. People required support from the service because they had either complex physical health needs or were living with Dementia. They were providing a service to 18 people 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
People felt safe using the service and staff understood what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe. People had their risks assessed and managed to ensure they received personal care and support safely. Staff administered people’s medicines safely and prevented people from the risk of cross infection. There were enough staff to provide peoples care and the service had systems in place to review any incidents and learn when things went wrong.
People had their needs assessed and plans put in place to meet them including assessing and supporting people with specific health conditions and meeting nutritional needs. The service worked in partnership with people, relatives and other agencies to support people's good health and well-being and provide consistent care.
Staff were trained and competency was checked following an induction into the role to ensure staff had the skills to do their job well and effectively meet people's needs.
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.
People received a service which was personalised and met their individual needs and preferences.
People were involved in decisions about their care and people and relatives were communicated with effectively. People and relatives told us they had regular staff who were kind, understood their needs and were competent in providing personalised care.
People received responsive care and support tailored to their individual needs and preferences. People were supported to go out into the community and do things they enjoyed. The provider had systems in place to manage and resolve complaints. People receiving end of life care were supported effectively.
People and their relatives spoke highly of the service and had opportunities to provide feedback and action was taken to address issues which were raised. Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality and delivery of care to people. Improvements to the service were made when needed.
The registered manager was committed to providing good care to support people to achieve the best possible outcomes. The provider adopted a learning culture and worked in partnership with people, relatives and other agencies to ensure people had person centred care.
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 good (published 21 February 2017).
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.
We last inspected this service in November 2015. At that time the provider was meeting all of the regulations we looked at and was awarded a rating of ‘Good.’ However some improvements were needed in regard to the processes in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. This inspection visit found that improvements had been made.
Your Care Services was providing support to 22 people living in their own home. People required support from the service because they had either complex physical health needs or were living with Dementia.
There was a registered manager in post who was available throughout our visit to the agency office. 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.
People and the relatives of people using this service told us they felt their relatives were safe. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. There were processes to minimise risks associated with people’s care to keep them safe. This included the completion of risk assessments and recruitment checks on staff to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. There were enough suitably trained care staff to deliver care and support to people. Most people had regular care staff who usually arrived on time and stayed the agreed length of time. A minority of people felt that staff consistency could be improved.
The staff employed had the training and support they required to work safely. Training for staff about the specific needs people experienced had also been provided. Staff practice was closely monitored and they were subject to spot checks by senior staff. Appropriate systems were in place for the management and administration of medicines.
Senior staff had visited each of the people using the service at their home. They had met with them and their family if appropriate, to determine what care and support the person required, and how they would like this care to be provided. This information had then been developed into a care plan, and shared with staff that were supporting the person. This ensured all staff were aware of the person’s needs and wishes.
The registered manager understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and staff told us how they respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
People who required support had enough to eat and drink during the day and were assisted to arrange health appointments if required.
People told us staff were kind and caring and had the right skills and experience to provide the care and support they required. Staff spoke enthusiastically about the people they were supporting, and were able to explain people’s needs, their preferences and were aware of important people in the person’s life.
The provider sought feedback from people using the service and their relatives in respect of the quality of care provided and had arrangements in place to deal with any concerns or complaints. The registered provider had developed a complaints procedure. People said they knew how to raise complaints and knew who to contact if they had any concerns.
People, their relatives and staff expressed their confidence in the registered manager. There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service, which included positive feedback from people using the service.
This inspection took place on 11 and 13 November 2015. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our inspection to ensure members of the management team would be available at the office, and to ensure they could make arrangements for us to meet with and speak to staff.
We last inspected this service in December 2013. At that time the provider was meeting all of the regulations we looked at.
Your Care Services was providing support to 26 people living in their own home. People required support from the service because they had either complex physical health needs or were living with dementia.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
People and the relatives of people using this service told us they felt their relatives were safe. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. There were processes to minimise risks associated with people’s care to keep them safe. This included the completion of risk assessments and recruitment checks on staff to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. There were enough suitably trained care staff to deliver care and support to people.
The staff employed had the training and support they required to work safely. Training for staff about the specific needs people experienced had also been provided.
Most people had regular care staff who usually arrived on time and stayed the agreed length of time. Two relatives told us they had experienced call times that were too early or late but that in the weeks leading up to our inspection this had improved.
Senior staff had visited each of the people using the service at their home. They had met with them and their family to determine what care and support the person required, and how they would like this care to be provided. This information had then been developed into a care plan, and shared with staff that were supporting the person. This ensured all staff were aware of the person’s needs and wishes.
The managers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and staff told us how they respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
People who required support had enough to eat and drink during the day and were assisted to arrange health appointments if required. Staff we spoke with were able to describe a range of activities they undertook each day which ensured people stayed healthy and how they observed people’s skin for signs of sore areas for example when they were supporting them with personal care.
People told us staff were kind and caring and had the right skills and experience to provide the care and support they required. Staff we met spoke enthusiastically about the people they were supporting, and were able to explain people’s needs, their preferences and were aware of important people in the person’s life.
The provider sought feedback from people using the service and their relatives in respect of the quality of care provided and had arrangements in place to deal with any concerns or complaints. The registered provider had developed a complaints procedure. People said they knew how to raise complaints and knew who to contact if they had any concerns. All of the staff we spoke with were confident they could raise any concerns with the managers, knowing they would be listened to and acted upon.
There were some processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through communication with people and staff, spot checks on staff and a programme of other checks and audits although these were not always effective in identifying how the service could be improved.
People's needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. Risks associated with their needs were identified, assessed and a plan was put in place to direct staff how to manage them. These plans balanced people's safety and physical and mental well-being with their independence.
Action was taken to identify and prevent abuse from happening in the service. Care staff knew the agreed ways of managing risks presented by people's needs. We found that staff had updated training in safeguarding adults and were able to tell us what were their responsibilities in line with the policy of the service. People told us that the service was reliable and that they had not been let down or left waiting for the care that they needed.
There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place and staff were properly supported to provide care to people. Leadership and management were well organised and visible. One relative told us "I'm quite happy with them, the carers are good and the managers are accessible."
The provider had good systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service it delivered and records were fit for purpose and kept in good order.