6 November 2018
During a routine inspection
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to people living with dementia, with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health condition, physical disability, sensory impairment, older people, people who misuse drugs and alcohol, and younger adults.
Not everyone using Outreach 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. At the time of this inspection, 26 people were receiving personal care support.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
People told us they felt safe with staff and they were trustworthy. Staff knew how to safeguard people against harm and abuse, and how to escalate concerns of abuse and neglect.
People told us they were generally satisfied with staff timekeeping and punctuality and found them to be reliable. The provider monitored care visits to ensure staff arrived on time and stayed throughout the duration of the care visit.
People’s medicines were managed safely and were satisfied with the support. Staff followed safe infection control procedures to prevent the spread of infection.
There was enough staffing to meet people’s needs safely. The provider followed appropriate recruitment practices to ensure suitable staff were supporting people at risk.
Staff were provided with sufficient training and regular supervision to do their jobs effectively.
The provider had systems in place to learn and share lessons from when things went wrong to minimise its reoccurrence.
People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. They told us their individual including dietary needs were met. People were supported to access healthcare services.
Staff received regular training and supervision to provide effective care. The provider delivered care in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 principles.
People told us staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. People’s cultural and spiritual needs were met and recorded in their care plans. People were supported to remain as independent as possible.
The provider ensured continuity of care and people told us the continuity of care enabled them to form positive relationships with staff.
People’s care plans were individualised and regularly reviewed. Staff knew people’s likes and dislikes and how to meet their personalised needs.
People and their relatives were encouraged to raise concerns and were generally satisfied with how their complaints were resolved.
The provider had end of life policy and systems in place to support people to have a dignified and pain-free death.
People and relatives spoke positively about the management. Staff told us they felt supported and enjoyed working with the provider. The provider had effective monitoring and auditing checks and systems to ensure the safety and quality of the service.
People, relatives and staff's feedback was sought to continuously improve the service.
The management worked with several organisations to improve the lives of people.