Archived: Rapid Improvement Care Agency

Updated 5 August 2021

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and health and social care professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke on the telephone with one person who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, branch manager, two care coordinators, an administrative officer and three care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and eight medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, staff supervision and appraisals. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 5 August 2021

About the service

Rapid Improvement Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and reablement service to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults. At the time of this inspection 14 people were using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is to 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

People received care and support which was safe and personalised to their needs. Staff understood their responsibility to protect people from the risk of abuse and to report any concerns to the office. Risks to people had been identified, assessed and managed well. People were supported to take their medicines safely and there were enough staff available to support people. Staff followed appropriate infection control procedures to minimise the spread of infections.

Before people started using the service, their needs were assessed to ensure they could be met. People received care and support from staff who had been supported through induction, training, supervision and appraisals. People were supported to maintain good health; eat healthily and access healthcare services when required. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's communication needs had been assessed and met and they were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy.

People were complimentary about the service and told us it was well led. The service had effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service. The service worked in partnership with key organisations to plan and deliver an effective service. People and their relatives' views were sought to improve on the quality of care and support provided.

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 23 April 2020). 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, receiving and acting on complaints, good governance and staffing.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 February 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. 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, Effective, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. 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 Rapid Improvement Care Agency on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.