Updated 19 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
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. In this instance their area of expertise was caring and supporting a family member living with dementia.
Service and service type:
UK Care Team Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to younger and older adults.
Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
We spoke with four people who used the service, four relatives of people who were unable to speak with us, six care staff, a fieldwork supervisor, a rota co-ordinator and the registered manager.
We reviewed two people’s care records, looked at three staff files and reviewed records relating to the management of medicines, complaints and how the provider monitored the quality of the service.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection:
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to ensure there was someone available to facilitate the inspection and to inform the people using the service of the inspection.
Inspection site visit activity started on 13 February and ended on 15 February 2019. We visited the office location on 13 February to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We visited one person on 13th February and made telephone calls to people, their families and staff on 14 and 15 February.
What we did:
We reviewed the information we had about the service which included any notifications that had been sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
We contacted the health and social care commissioners who monitor the care and support that people received.
We had not asked the provider to send us a provider Information return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service. This includes what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, we gave the provider the opportunity to share any information they felt relevant during the inspection.