We carried out a review of the data available to us about Staffing Connect on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Staffing Connect, you can give feedback on this service.
Staffing Connect is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were providing support and personal care for one person. 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
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it
Right Support:
The service (or staff) supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area and to interact online with people who had shared interests. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs.
Right Care:
Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. People received kind and compassionate care. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right Culture:
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.
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 10 March 2020).
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 carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 January 2020 and 3 February 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection 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, Responsive 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 Staffing Connect 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
Staffing Connect is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were providing support and personal care for one person. 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
Medicines were not always managed in a safe way to ensure they were administered appropriately and as prescribed.
The provider had a range of audits in place, but the audit in relation to administration of medicines did not provide appropriate information to identify where actions for improvement were required.
We have made a recommendation about the recording of the day to day care provided for people.
We have made a recommendation about providing information in an accessible format to meet people’s communication needs.
Relatives told us they felt their family member was safe when they received care and support from the service. The provider had processes in place for the recording and investigation of incidents and accidents.
There was a recruitment process and the appropriate number of care workers were allocated to each visit to ensure people’s needs were met. Care workers received the training and supervision they required to provide them with the knowledge and skills to provide care in a safe and effective manner.
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.
There was a process to investigate any concerns regarding the care provided and any complaints that were received. Risk management plans were developed providing care workers with guidance on how to minimise risks for people using the service.
Detailed assessments of a person’s support needs were completed before care started. Care plans described the care and support a person required and how it should be provided. People using the service were supported to access the community to take part in activities they enjoyed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 28 July 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The inspection took place on 5 July 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available.
This was the first inspection since the provider registered on 25 July 2016.
At the time of the inspection a registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
The provider had a process in place for the administration of medicines. The person received the medicines they needed in a safe manner.
The person’s relative felt their family member was safe when they received care and support at home and when they were in the community. The provider had policies and procedures in place to respond to any concerns that were raised about the care provided.
A range of risk assessments were in place and the provider had processes in place for the recording and investigation of incidents and accidents.
The provider had an effective recruitment process in place. Care workers had received training identified by the provider as mandatory to ensure they were providing appropriate and effective care for the person using the service. Also care workers had regular supervision with the registered manager.
The person was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
The service worked closely with healthcare professional to ensure the person’s health needs were met.
The care plan identified the person’s food and drink preferences as well as their cultural and religious needs.
The person’s relative felt the care workers were kind and caring. Care workers encouraged the person to be independent but ensured he was safe.
A range of activities were identified in the care plan and the person was supported by the care workers to be active.
The provider had a complaints process in place and the person’s relative knew how to raise a concern if they needed to.
Detailed care plans were in place and these were regularly reviewed.
The person’s relative and care workers felt the service was well-led and the care workers felt supported.
The provider had processes in place to monitor the quality of the care provided.