Background to this inspection
Updated
8 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
United Professionals Ltd is a national case management company, that co-ordinates, monitors and reviews the recruitment, training and support of health and care staff who deliver care and support to people within their own family homes in the community.
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. Only case management services who are involved in the ongoing direction and control of personal care to people (regulated activity), are required to be regulated by CQC.
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 one days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to ensure the registered manager was available to speak with us.
Inspection activity started on 10 May 2022 and ended on 20 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 10 May 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since its registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. 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 this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We attended the office and spoke with nine members of staff, including the registered manager, the safeguarding lead and the nominated individual. (The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.)
We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with staff working in the satellite office in Somerset.
We looked at records in relation to people who used the service, including two care and support plans and systems for monitoring the quality of the service provided.
After the inspection we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at staff training and governance records. We also spoke with two people who used the service and a relative on the telephone to help us understand their experience of the care and support their loved one received.
Updated
8 June 2022
About the service
United Professionals Ltd is a national case management service which organises and monitors the provision of regulated activities (e.g. personal and nursing care). The service provides support to adults and children who have sustained life changing injuries, including those living with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to five people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People using the service, benefited from a service that was committed to providing safe and high-quality care and support, and put people at the heart of their own care and support plan.
Unite Professionals Ltd organised and monitored the provision of care and support services which delivered care to people.
Recruitment processes were robust and ensured staff were safe to work with people.
Risks to people were managed and mitigated to lessen the risk of harm to people. A positive mindset was taken to risk management. People were not told they couldn’t do something simply because it was too risky, but were supported by staff to manage risks and retain their independence as far as possible.
Staff demonstrated a strong commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for people, which were guided by people’s own goals.
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.
As the service was involved in the provision of care and support to people living with a learning disability, we expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The model of care adopted by the service maximised people’s choice, control and independence. Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights at all times. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of management and staff ensured people using the service led confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
The service adopted an open culture which was committed to delivering high-quality person-centred care to people. This was supported by effective governance and collaborative working, in addition to enabling advocacy, so that people had a genuine say in the provision of their care and support.
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 1 December 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
As the service has been registered with CQC for over one year, we carried out this comprehensive inspection to award a rating for the service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.