Archived: Cambridgeshire County Council Reablement Service North (March Team)

Updated 17 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection took place between 26 and 28 March 2019 and was undertaken 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. Their area of expertise was older people and people living with dementia care.

Service and service type:

Cambridgeshire County Council Reablement Service North (March Team) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to younger adults, people living with dementia, people with a learning disability, autism and people with a physical disability.

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 5 days’ notice of the inspection site visit because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector, which meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this. This was so we could speak with a relative or advocate who was able to tell us about people's care.

Inspection site visit activity started on 26 March 2019 and ended on 28 March 2019. We visited the office location on 28 March 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before this inspection we checked the information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us.

The provider had completed and submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also asked for feedback from the local authority who have a quality monitoring safeguarding and commissioning role with the service. No concerns were reported.

We spoke with five people using the service, eight relatives of people who could not speak with us, the registered manager, the service manager, a senior care coordinator, a senior team leader, a senior support worker and three care staff. We also received feedback from the local authority social workers team.

During the inspection we looked at various records, including care records for five people, as well as other records relating to the running of the service. These included staff records, medicine records, audits and meeting minutes; so that we could corroborate our findings and ensure the care and support being provided to people was appropriate for them.

Updated 17 April 2019

About the service: Cambridgeshire County Council Reablement Service North (March Team) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats, so that they can live as independently as possible. Most people who used the reablement service were supported for a period of up to six weeks, but in exceptional circumstances this could be extended.

Not everyone using Cambridgeshire County Council Reablement Service North (March Team) receives a 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 39 people were using the service and 38 were in receipt of personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People were supported to be safe by sufficient skilled staff who were deployed to keep people as safe as practicable. People’s medicines were administered and managed safely. Staff managed risk to people well including infection prevention. Accidents and incidents were acted on.

• Staff were skilled and competent and knew the people they supported well. People's care, health and support needs were identified and staff were skilled at meeting these. People were supported to eat and drink sufficiently. Staff enabled people to access and receive appropriate healthcare when required. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and ensured people received care they had agreed to.

• People received care and support from all staff that was compassionate, kind and caring. People's privacy and dignity was protected and promoted. People got on well with staff and had developed a bond which helped staff better understand their needs and preferences. One person told us, “I would not be walking now without their help, encouragement and passion to make my life better.”

• People received person centred care that met their needs. Care plans lacked detail of how people would like their needs met but staff knew people very well. People achieved more independence due to staff’s involvement, determination and ability to help them achieve goals. Staff engaged with people and worked with them to achieve the best outcome such as, being able to cook independently again. Complaints were acted on to the complainant’s satisfaction.

• People, relatives, health professionals and staff praised the service management who promoted an open and friendly culture. Staff were supported to achieve their full potential. The registered manager and staff worked very successfully in partnership with other agencies to ensure people got the care and support they needed. People had a say in how the service was run and this changed people’s lives for the better.

Rating at last inspection:

This service has not been rated since the provider registered this service in February 2018.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection as part of CQC’s routine inspection programme.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next inspection is undertaken in accordance with our published guidance. If any information of concern is received in the interim, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk