Deeper Care York

Updated 18 November 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 completed by 1 inspector and 1 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 requested feedback from the local authority. We looked at information sent to us since the service registered such as notifications about accidents, incidents and safeguarding alerts. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office and spoke with the registered manager and 4 care staff by phone. We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 8 relatives by phone.

We looked at records related to people’s care and the management of the service. We viewed 3 people’s care records, 1 person’s medication records and 3 staff recruitment and induction files. We also looked at rotas, training and supervision information, and records used to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 18 November 2022

About the service

Deeper Care York is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service is registered to provide support to younger and older adults who may be living with a sensory impairment, physical disability, learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, or dementia.

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. At the time of the inspection, 29 people were using the service, of which 23 people were receiving personal care calls.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support:

People had choice and control of their care and their independence was promoted by caring and considerate staff. One person said, “They don’t need to ask what to do, they just instinctively know what to do. They are incredibly organised, they even put my wheelie bin out.” A relative said, “They do seem to achieve an awful lot within the 30 minutes, such as little jobs they do for my relative which they really appreciate.”

People were cared for safely by staff who were trained and had the skills and knowledge to manage risks to people’s safety and wellbeing. Staff were safely recruited and there was enough staff to meet people’s needs as planned. A relative told us, “They let us know if they are running late and they have never missed a visit yet.”

Staff administered people’s medicines as prescribed and followed infection prevention and control processes. Staff monitored people’s wellbeing and made referrals and followed advice from relevant professionals.

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.

Right Care:

People provided very positive feedback about care staff and how they were supported. Comments included, “I have found that all the carers are kind and thoughtful” and “We cannot praise these carers enough. They are brilliant. They are so good to both of us.”

Staff supported people in a person-centred way and care was tailored to people’s individual needs and routines. A relative said, “The carers all talk to my relative and take time with them and my relative is very happy with them. The carers are getting my relative to respond which is lovely to see. They are all fantastic with my relative.”

People were supported by staff who knew them well and their privacy and dignity were maintained. People’s rights were upheld and equality and diversity was positively embedded in the service.

Right Culture:

The service was well-led and the registered manager promoted a positive culture and effective working relationships within the team and with relevant professionals. The quality and safety of the service had been maintained.

The registered manager valued and supported their staff professionally and personally.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 5 July 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.