The Care Quality Commission
  • Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Archived: Unique Personnel (UK) Limited

138 St Georges Road, Forest Gate, London, E7 8HS (020) 8552 7111

Provided and run by:
Unique Personnel (U.K.) Limited

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

20 February 2014

During a routine inspection

Most people confirmed that the care they received was appropriate to their needs, but there were a few instances where people were not fully satisfied with the care and support they received. Three people felt the carers had not been given enough time by the agency to carry out the tasks they were assigned. One person told us that they were not notified that a care worker was coming late and another person felt some care workers did not have a good command of English.

People told us they had been treated with respect and dignity by staff from the agency. A relative described the care worker as 'very kind' and 'cheerful', in terms of the way she interacted with their relative.

We viewed ten care files and found that people's needs were assessed, risks to people were identified and plans were in place to minimise these. However, we noted that some information was missing. For example; we could not find any reviews of care plans for 2012. One file did not have up to date risk assessments in place and another had risk assessments that were dated in 2010.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. However, the provider was reminded that they needed to notify the Commission of any allegation of abuse, which they had neglected to do in January 2014.

The agency allowed people to express their views and concerns in a safe and understanding environment. The deputy manager informed us that they had regular contact with people using the service and their representatives.

Records were kept but were not always accurate and fit for purpose. Care plans had not been consistently reviewed. Some of the incident forms had very little information on them and lacked details of what actually happened and some forms were not legibly written. We noted from the incident forms that there had been occasions where people had been physically or verbally aggressive towards the care workers. There was no information available to demonstrate how the agency supported care workers with this or how they should work with these people in the future.

12 February 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

We inspected this service following concerns which had been raised regarding the care of individuals and knowledge and skills of staff.

We found that people were cared for in line with their assessed needs. Care plans were person centred and individual risks had been assessed and recorded.

Recruitment processes were robust and all staff received an induction in line with the 'Skills for Care Common Induction Standards'.

Complaints were handled in line with the agency's complaints procedure, which followed good practice.

16 August 2012

During a themed inspection looking at Domiciliary Care Services

We carried out a themed inspection looking at domiciliary care services. We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency as part of a targeted inspection programme of domiciliary care agencies with particular regard to how people's dignity was upheld and how they can make choices about their care. The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector joined by an Expert by Experience who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

We used telephone interviews and home visits to people who use the service and their carers and care workers to gain views about the service. We spoke on the telephone to eight people who use the service and one carer and visited two people in their own homes.

All the people we spoke to were satisfied with the quality of service and felt safe receiving care. People were positive about the skills of the staff who visited them. Most people described their care as 'good or very good.'

All the people who used the service said they were treated respectfully. People said that care workers understood their rights and the need to have their dignity and privacy maintained.

People said that their care was personalised and that they were always called by their preferred names. Everyone we spoke to said their care workers took time to get to know them and understand their needs and preferences, and supported their independence. One person said, 'they help my husband with all of his personal care tasks, but always talk to him and encourage him.' Other people told us, 'they always ask me what I would like at each visit even though they all know what to do. This makes me happy as I feel it's personal to me.'

People were aware of their care plan and the information it contained about them. People said that managers came to visit and review their care regularly. People also said they gave written consent to changes in their care.

We spoke to the registered manager, deputy manager and care coordination staff at the office. We also spoke to five care workers who visited the office during our inspection and one care worker on our home visits. Care workers were positive about the training and the amount of support they received to do their jobs.