Archived: The Hub

Updated 16 February 2017

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.

This unannounced inspection took place on 17 January 2017 and was undertaken by one inspector.

Before the inspection we looked at all of the information that we had about the service. This included information from notifications received by us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

Prior to the inspection we made contact with the local authorities who commission people’s care, including social workers. This was to help with the planning of the inspection and to gain their views about how people’s care was being provided.

During the inspection we visited the agency’s office and spoke with the registered manager and three care staff. We spoke with two people and one relative. We observed how people were cared for.

We looked at two people’s care records, medicines administration records and records in relation to the management of staff and the agency.

Updated 16 February 2017

The HUB is a supported living and domiciliary service that is registered to provide personal care to people who live in their own homes. At the time of this inspection care was provided to three people. The HUB office is located on the outskirts of Peterborough city centre. A variety of facilities are also provided in the location’s office including cooking and various art and craft facilities for people who chose to attend the office where various activities were held. The office was also a place where people could meet their circle of friends and support.

This unannounced comprehensive inspection was undertaken by one inspector which took place on 17 January 2017.

A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection and had been registered since the service was registered in January 2016. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the agency. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff had a good understanding of their knowledge on how to keep people safe and also of the organisations they could report any incident of harm to. However, not all accidents and incidents were reported to the appropriate authorities. This put people at risk of not being as safely supported as they could have been. A sufficient number of suitably skilled staff were in post to meet people’s assessed needs in a safe way.

Only staff deemed suitable after being subjected to a robust recruitment process were offered employment. People’s medicines were administered as prescribed. However, the competency for staff to do this safely had not been assessed. This meant that there was a risk of people not being administered their prescribed medications safely.

People’s health and nutritional needs were met and supported by staff who possessed the necessary care skills. This was in identifying when health care interventions were required. People, with staff’s support, could access health care services according to their needs.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [MCA] and to report on what we find. The provider was aware of what they were required to do should any person lack mental capacity. Appropriate authorisations were in place to support people in a legal way. This showed us that the registered manager and care staff were aware of, and liaised with, those lawful bodies that were responsible authorising guardianships to lawfully deprive people of their liberty. Staff had a good understanding about the application of the MCA code of practice.

Staff undertook training appropriate to their role and they were mentored through a shadowing system with experienced staff. This gave staff the necessary skills they needed to undertake their role effectively.

People’s care was provided by staff with kindness who valued people’s privacy, dignity and who were treated in a respectful way. People, their relatives or representatives, were enabled through various means and support to be involved in assessing, planning and the review of their care and care planning.

A positive difference was made to people’s lives by being provided with various opportunities to prevent isolation in the community or at home. Assistance was provided by staff so that people could be as independent as possible such as help with work, education, hobbies and pastimes. This helped people with maintaining an active lifestyle based upon people’s preferences and needs.

An effective system was in place to gather and act upon people’s suggestions, concerns and complaints. Concerns, comments and suggestions were acted upon before they became a complaint. Where people had raised a concern this had followed the provider’s process, to the satisfaction of the person.

The registered manager was supported by an area manager and worked with a team of care staff who recognised the quality of their leadership. Staff who had been trained according to their role had the support mechanisms in place that they needed to fulfil their role effectively.

People, their relatives and staff were involved and enabled to make suggestions to improve how the service was run. Quality monitoring and assurance process were in place and actions were taken whenever improvements were identified.