Nupath Care Gateshead

Updated 8 March 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by an inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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.

Inspection activity started on 30 November 2022 and ended on 15 December 2022. We visited the location’s office on 30 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 22 November 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We reviewed the information we held about the service including information submitted to CQC by the provider about serious injuries or events.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We sought feedback from the local authority contracts monitoring and safeguarding adults teams and reviewed the information they provided. We contacted the local Healthwatch for their feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We requested feedback from 8 members of care staff. We spoke with 4 members of staff, which included the registered manager, regional manager and office staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people's care records and medicines records for 5 people. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 8 March 2023

Nupath Care Gateshead is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is 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’s care and support needs were not always provided in line with their assessed needs. The provider did not always ensure that there were suitable numbers of staff available to safely support people. Relatives told us they often had to provide support to people and had raised this with staff during care reviews, but this was not actioned or raised with the registered manager.

Notifications relating to significant events that had occurred at the service, for example allegations of abuse, had not always been submitted to the CQC. This is part of the legal requirement all registered managers and provider must follow to ensure they are meeting the regulations.

Relatives provided positive feedback about the approach of staff and how they treated people. People were supported to be as independent as possible and staff carried out enabling calls so that people could participate in actives and socialise within the community.

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.

Risks people may face were fully identified and mitigated. Medicines were safely managed, and the service worked in partnership with other health care professionals to make sure people received a continuous level of support.

People had person-centred care plans which were created from holistic assessments of people's needs. Staff had a positive relationship with the registered manager and felt able to provide feedback regularly about the service. The quality and assurance systems in place allowed for effective monitoring of the service by the registered manager and provider.

Staff had access to PPE and followed best practice guidance and the provider's policy in relation to infection prevention and control. Staff received training and support to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge to support people.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 April 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to staffing levels and submission of notifications at this inspection. We have made a recommendation that the provider reviews the systems in place to ensure that any identified actions from care reviews can be monitored by the registered manager.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.