Integral Focus Support and Care Services

Updated 22 June 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out 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 and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and 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

We reviewed the information we already held about the service. This included their registration report and notifications. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does 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 a person using the service, a relative, a personal assistant, a deputy manager, and the registered manager. We reviewed two people's care files, two staff files and the provider's policies, procedures and documents relating to management such as audits and quality assurance records.

Updated 22 June 2022

Integral Focus Support and Care Services is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care. At the time of the inspection, two people were receiving support with personal care. 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

Staff were not always checked properly to ensure they were safe to work with people. The auditing systems and the provider's recruitment processes were not satisfactory, and the provider did not identify these shortfalls through their auditing systems.

The service had systems in place to ensure people were protected from abuse. Staff did not administer medicine, but they had training to support people with the management of medicines if it was needed. Risks to people were assessed and monitored. There were measures in place for infection prevention and control. Lessons were learned when things went wrong to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

Initial assessment of needs were completed before people started using the service, and this allowed people and staff to determine if the service was suitable for them. People and relatives felt that staff were caring, kind and trained to achieve good outcomes for them. Staff told us they were supported in their roles and the management team was approachable. Where needed, staff supported people with their meals and with accessing healthcare services. Staff understood equality and diversity and ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected.

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's consent was sought when care was provided.

People and relatives knew how to make a complaint. The service sought feedback from people, relatives and staff. Staff were developing survey questionnaires as part of their ongoing quality assurance systems. Care plans were person-centred and enabled people to receive care and support that met their needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 16 June 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to poor staff recruitment practices and unsatisfactory auditing systems. 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 quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect .