UK Case Management Limited

UK Case Management Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to children, adults and older people who may have physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people using the service receiving 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

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.

Risks to individuals were identified and well managed. There was an emphasis on safely promoting people’s well-being and independence. Medicines were managed safely. Staff had received training in safeguarding and were aware of their responsibilities. There were safe systems of staff recruitment in place and sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs. Staff teams were built specifically around individuals and their needs and preferences.

Staff received the induction, training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. People’s needs were assessed and detailed care plans and risk assessments gave staff clear guidance on people’s needs and preferences. People were supported to access a range of health care professionals and staff and managers worked closely with other agencies to ensure people’s needs were met.

The service was well managed. The registered manager had a good understanding of what was needed to provide good quality care and support. There was a range of detailed quality monitoring, auditing and oversight in place. People who used the service spoke very positively about the service, registered manager and staff. The registered manager demonstrated a commitment to providing a person-centred, responsive service. Staff we spoke with shared that commitment. Staff and the registered manager spoke with compassion and empathy about the people who used the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 March 2023) and there were breaches of regulations relating to management of risk, medicines, safeguarding and governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met and to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for UK Case Management Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

About the service

UK Case Management Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to children, adults and older people who may have sensory impairments or physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

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

Right Support:

People were supported by a team who knew them well. However, care plans in place to help guide support workers did not always include the full details of people’s care needs. Risks to people had not always been assessed so we could not be assured that all risks had appropriate mitigation in place. Medication management was not always safe, entries were missing from the medication records and records did not follow best practice guidance. People told us they received their medication as prescribed, but this was not reflected by the records in the service. Support workers competencies to complete certain care tasks had not been checked or recorded. We have made a recommendation about this. Governance systems were either not robust or they had failed to highlight the concerns from the inspection.

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:

Training was offered in how to protect people from poor care and abuse; however, support workers did not always escalate concerns in a timely manner. Provider oversight had failed to identify the delay in reporting concerns. Support workers were caring and supported people with dignity and respect. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People felt listened too and told us support workers acted on their wishes and preferences. People had choices in their everyday lives and took control of their care, working with the service to ensure their needs were met.

Right Culture:

The management team were inclusive and encouraged support workers, people and families to be involved in planning their care. Support workers knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.

People gave positive feedback about the care they received. One person said, “They do a good job.” While a family member told us, “[The service] know us as a family. It doesn’t feel like a business. It is very responsive, and [person] is at the centre of what they do. They have been with us through some very difficult times. I am very happy.”

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 10 October 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 and to provide the service with its first rating.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the safety of the service, failure to ensure robust safeguarding systems and relating to the governance of the service at this inspection.

We have made a recommendation about the competency and training records for the support staff.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

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.