Background to this inspection
Updated
2 August 2019
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
The inspection team consisted of one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also visited the homes of two people. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, paediatric and adult clinical leads, office-based staff and care staff during our office site visit.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. 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. We received feedback from four professionals who regularly work with people who use the service. We communicated with staff and received feedback from a further four care staff.
Updated
2 August 2019
About the service
Newcross Healthcare Solutions Plymouth (hereafter referred to as Newcross) is a service providing support to adults, children and young people living in their own homes. It was providing personal care as part of a wider support package to nine people at the time of our inspection, but also provided enabling support to a further 19 people. Newcross specialises in supporting people with complex health needs.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects those parts of the service where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene, medicines, 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 and relatives said care was safe. People were supported by staff who had been competency tested in medicines and care procedures. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people were supported by regular staff members.
Staff training was detailed and specialised. Staff felt supported and were provided with regular one to one meetings and clinical review meetings. Clinical supervision was provided for the nurse clinical leads.
People said staff were caring and they were treated with dignity and respect. People were involved in the planning of their care and felt listened to by staff. Staff put people first.
People’s care was delivered in line with their preferences. Care plans were person-centred. People were empowered and supported to be as active a part of their local community as they wished. Complaints were investigated in line with the service’s policy and people and relatives felt happy to complain.
There was an established quality assurance system and audits picked up issues and followed them up. Staff said they could approach the registered manager and clinical leads and were listened to.
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.
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 July 2018). 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
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.