Unique Community Services Manchester

Updated 20 January 2023

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 and an 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 24 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.

Inspection activity started on 21 December 2022 and ended on 5 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 21 December 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 31 May 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 care staff including the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received feedback from 5 health and social care professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 20 January 2023

About the service

Unique Community Service Manchester is a domiciliary care provider. It currently provides personal care to people in their own homes. 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 our inspection the service supported 5 people with personal care.

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

Unique Community Services Manchester provided person-centred care and this was reflected in the feedback we received about the service. There was a high level of satisfaction with the service. Relatives, staff and health and social care professionals provided excellent feedback during the inspection about their experience of the service. One relative told us, ““The [staff] are absolutely amazing”.

People received safe care and support. Staff understood how to safeguard people and when to raise concerns. Staff were recruited safely. Risks associated with people’s care were assessed and monitored. Staff followed infection prevention and control guidance to minimise risks related to the spread of infection.

Assessments were person centred and care was responsive to people’s needs. The staff were motivated and well trained to carry out their roles effectively.

The service was well led. The provider and registered manager followed governance systems which provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service. These governance systems and processes ensured the service met people’s assessed 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.

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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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 30 September 2021 and this is 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.