Newline Care Services

Updated 10 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We visited the provider’s offices on the 14 June 2018.The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure the registered provider was available. The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors and an inspection manager.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return [PIR] submission. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at notifications sent to us by the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the visit to the provider’s office we looked at the care records for people who used the service, staff recruitment files, training records and other records relating to the day to day running of the service. We also spoke with the registered provider, business manager, care administrator and office administrator.

In addition, as part of the inspection process we carried out telephone interviews with twelve people who used the service or their relatives. We also spoke with eleven staff members by telephone between the 14 and 29 June 2018.

Updated 10 August 2018

We carried out this announced inspection between the 14 June and 29 June 2018. The registered provider was given short notice of our intention to inspect the service. This is in accordance with the Care Quality Commission’s [CQC] current procedures for inspecting domiciliary care services.

Newline Care Services is a community based domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to adults living in their own homes. The service is operated from offices in the Idle area of Bradford and supports people in both Bradford and Leeds. At the time of the inspection 54 people were using the service.

Our last inspection took place in January 2017and at that time we found the service was not meeting four of the regulations we looked at. These related to Safe care and treatment, Need for consent, Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment and Good governance.

On this inspection we found the registered provider had made improvements in all areas of service delivery and no breaches of regulations were identified.

People told us they felt safe having their care and support provided by Newline Care Services. We found staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable people and were aware of the correct action to take if they witnessed or suspected any abuse. Staff were aware of the whistleblowing (reporting poor practice) policy and told us they were certain any concerns they raised would be taken seriously by the registered manager.

The care records we looked at showed people’s needs had been assessed prior to any service commencing. They were detailed and showed what support the person required and how the service planned to provide it. The assessment process ensured staff could meet people’s needs and the information gathered was used to develop support plans and risk assessments.

We found support plans were person centred and contained detailed information that guided staff on the level of support people needed to meet their health and social care needs. Care records were reviewed regularly to ensure they reflected people’s changing needs and detailed risk assessment were in place.

People’s nutritional needs were met if this was part of their agreed care package and people were encouraged to eat a varied and balanced diet. People told us staff treated them with respect and promoted their independence and right to privacy.

There were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs. People received continuity of care provided by a small staff team who knew them well. Safe recruitment practices were followed to reduce the risk of people being unsuitable to work in the caring profession being employed. Staff were trained and supported to have the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staff enjoyed their role and felt valued by the registered manager.

The service had an infection control policy which gave staff guidance on preventing, detecting and controlling the spread of infection. Staff had received training on infection prevention and control.

The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and staff demonstrated good knowledge of the people they supported and their capacity to make decisions. The registered manager and staff were aware of the process to follow should a person lack the capacity to consent to their care.

We found the registered manager and all the staff we spoke with were able to tell us about the people who used the service. They knew their likes and dislikes and things that were important to them.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received. People told us they felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager and felt these would be listened to and responded to effectively and in a timely manner.

The registered manager and staff were aware of the need to protect people’s confidential information and all personal information was securely stored and computers password protected.

There was a quality assurance monitoring system in place that was designed to continually monitor and identify shortfalls in service provision. The service benefitted from a strong management team who gave clear leadership and direction.