Archived: Community Response Team Mid Hants

Updated 22 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. 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 of the service under the Care Act 2014.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection team: The inspection visit was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides a short-term facility for people who may need care, support, equipment or rehabilitation. The service integrates health and social care and includes nurses, social workers, sensory workers, occupational therapists and rehabilitation assistants.

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.

What we did before the inspection

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, including the safeguarding team.

What we did

We spoke with the registered manager after the inspection visit as they were not available at the time we inspected. We spoke with the community response team consultant, the senior operations manager and two team leaders. After the inspection visit we obtained feedback from 10 staff members, six people and four relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medication records; Staff recruitment, training and supervision records; Records of accidents, incidents and complaints; Audits and quality assurance reports; Policies and procedures.

Updated 22 August 2019

About the service: Community Response Team Mid Hants is owned by Hampshire County Council. The agency is primarily a short-term assessment and reablement service for people coming out of hospital. The service is registered to provide care for people who are living with dementia, have personal care requirements, physical disabilities, treatment required for disease and disorder or injury. At the time of our inspection, 92 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service

The management provided good leadership and were actively working to drive improvement. Feedback from people, staff and relatives confirmed the management were respected and led by example.

Staff told us that they felt their achievements were recognised and that they felt valued. Staff had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. We observed staff were confident in performing their jobs and when speaking with people, other staff and the registered manager.

People, their families and professionals told us they felt the service was safe. Staff had received safeguarding training and had their competency in this subject checked. They were aware of the types of abuse that could happen to people, what signs to look out for and their responsibilities for reporting any concerns.

The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities to notify the CQC of important events that happened within the service. People and their families had been given information so that they knew what to expect from the service.

People who required assistance with their medicines were supported by appropriately skilled and qualified staff. They had received training and competency checks and had a good understanding of the risks associated with the medicine people were taking.

Staff received appropriate induction into their role and learning opportunities were made available.

Staff said they felt supported in their role. They told us they received regular supervision and had a yearly appraisal.

Staffing levels met the needs of the people using the service. Staff had been recruited safely.

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.

People had good access to healthcare services.

People, their families and other professionals had been involved in an assessment before the service provided any support. The assessment had been used to create care and support plans that addressed people’s individual identified needs. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the actions they needed to take to support people.

A complaints procedure was in place and people told us they were confident that concerns would be dealt with appropriately by management.

Staff were supported and encouraged to share ideas about how the service could be improved and had been pro-active in supporting changes. They spoke enthusiastically about the positive teamwork and support they received.

The provider had good systems in place to support staff to learn lessons and implement change.

Rating at last inspection: We previously inspected the location on 18 and 19 January 2017 and rated the service good.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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