Background to this inspection
Updated
13 February 2019
We carried out this comprehensive inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 comprehensive inspection visit took place on 13 December 2018, 7 and 9 January 2019 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit as, we wanted to speak with the registered manager during the inspection.
The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector and two experts 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. The expert by experiences on this inspection had a background supporting older people and people with dementia.
Before our inspection we completed our planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affected the health, safety and welfare of people the service supported and previous inspection reports. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people who used the service had been received. Prior to our inspection visit we contacted the commissioning department at the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champions for health and social care. This gave us additional information about the service
As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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.
During the inspection we spoke with a range of people about the service. They included eighteen people who received care and support, and six relatives of people who received care and support. We also spoke with the registered manager and three care staff. We looked at the care records, risk assessments and medicines information of three people, staff training matrix and staff and service user rotas. We checked staff recruitment and staff supervision records of three staff which were held at the head office in Blackpool. We looked at records relating to the management of the service and quality assurance monitoring. We also checked the office base to check it was a safe workplace.
Updated
13 February 2019
I Care (GB) Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people who live in their own homes. The service covers a wide range of dependency needs including older people, people living with dementia, people with a learning disability and people with mental health problems.
I Care (GB) Limited also provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented, and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.
Not everyone using I Care (GB) Limited receives regulated activity; 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.
This inspection visit took place on 13 December 2018, 7 and 9 January 2019 and was announced. At the last inspection carried out on 20 and 27 April 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
There was a registered manager in place. 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.
At the time of our inspection I Care (GB) Limited was providing a service to 262 people. This included background support and / or personal care to people who lived in one of the six extra care housing services they managed.
People said staff safely supported and cared for them or their family member. They said they were friendly and caring. One person said, “They’re so very good to me. They’ll do anything you ask.” Another person told us, “Nothing's too much trouble for them. I’m well pleased with them.”
There were procedures in place to protect people from abuse and unsafe care. Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance for staff. This minimised risks to people. Staff supported people with and managed medicines safely. People we spoke with told us staff were competent in the support they gave with medicines. One person said, “They put my creams on and write everything down so it’s clear.”
Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported. People who received support or where appropriate, their relatives had been involved in making decisions about their care. They told us they were usually supported by the same group of staff who they knew and liked. They said their staff team were competent and caring and were familiar with their needs and preferences.
Staff told us they had enough time to care for people without rushing them. People said staff never missed turning up, usually arrived on time, stayed for the correct time allocated and did not rush them. One person told us, “They are so gentle, they make me laugh we have a chat.” Other people said, “The same carers come and up to now they have been on time.” And, “I’m quite happy. I have consistent carers and they are punctual with my appointment time.”
Staff were recruited safely and had received training in how to care for people. One person told us, “They (staff) are well trained and know what they are doing, Staff also received regular one to one supervision and appraisal to discuss, care practice, skills and future plans. These measures gave them the skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective support.
Staff supported people to have a nutritious dietary and fluid intake which met their needs and preferences. There were safe infection control procedures and practices and staff had received infection control training. This reduced the risk of infection.
Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People who received support consented to care where they were able. Where people lacked capacity, appropriate best interests’ decisions were carried out.
We found the registered manager and staff team had clear lines of responsibility and accountability. They were clear about their roles and provided a well-run and consistent service. Senior staff monitored the support staff provided to people. They checked staff arrived on time and supported people in the way people wanted. The care manager monitored the service provided and informed the registered manager of any concerns.
People we spoke with knew how to raise a concern or to make a complaint. The complaints procedure was available to them and they told us any concerns were listened to and acted upon. They said they were given opportunities to give feedback about the service they received. They said they were satisfied with the care and support provided and able to discuss this with senior staff. One person said, I would say if I wasn’t happy, but I’ve not needed to.”
The service used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits and satisfaction surveys to seek their views about the service provided.