Archived: Universal Care Services Corby

Updated 8 June 2017

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 was an unannounced comprehensive inspection that was completed by one inspector and an expert- by- experience on 26, 27 and 28 April and 2 May 2017. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also contacted social and healthcare professionals who visited the service, and commissioners who fund the care for some people using the service, and asked them for their views.

During our inspection we spoke with 13 people who used the service and 12 members of staff including the registered manager. We also spoke with nine people’s relatives.

We looked at records and charts relating to five people and three staff recruitment records. We looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information for care staff, staff duty rotas and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 8 June 2017

Universal Care Services Corby provides personal care to people living in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 120 people receiving care from the service. At the last inspection, in May 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained overall Good but that there were some areas for improvement.

The systems in place to monitor the quality and performance of the service were not always effectively acted upon. People were regularly asked for their feedback about the service but did not always feel action was taken to address any shortfalls.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to people to meet their needs. People were consistently protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision and training that they required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

People developed positive relationships with the staff who were caring and treated people with respect, kindness and courtesy. People had detailed personalised plans of care in place to enable staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.