Background to this inspection
Updated
25 March 2020
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 was carried out 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to allow time for the service to gain people’s consent for us to contact them via telephone and visit them in person.
What we did before the inspection
Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about the service, which had been collected via our ongoing monitoring of care services. This included notifications sent to us by the service. Notifications are details about changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. We also asked for feedback from the local authority and professionals who worked with the service.
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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 10 people who used the service and six relatives about their experiences of the care and support provided. Feedback was gathered through telephone calls and home visits. We also spoke with eight staff members, including the registered manager, locality manager and support workers and two professionals who worked with the service.
We reviewed nine care files, four staff personnel files and other records relating to the management of the service and the care and support provided to people, including medicine administration records (MAR), audits and quality monitoring information.
Updated
25 March 2020
About the service
Kirklees Council – South Short Term and Urgent Support Team provide a reablement and rapid response service. The reablement service provides people with support for up to six weeks to help them live independently at home. In some instances people receive 'extended reablement' beyond six weeks until a permanent care provider can be found. The rapid response service supports people for up to two weeks to prevent admission to hospital or in the event of a breakdown in carer arrangements. At the time of our inspection there were 120 people receiving support with personal care from the service.
People’s experience of using this service
People felt safe using the service and in the presence of staff. A range of assessments had been completed to identify risks and keep people safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report any concerns. Enough staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and provide the support they required. Medicines were being managed safely by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent.
Staff received regular training and ongoing support to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. People told us staff were competent and supported them in the way they wanted. Detailed assessments were completed prior to the service starting, to capture people’s goals and what they wanted from the reablement process.
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.
Staff were described as friendly, supportive, patient and very caring. People and relatives spoke highly of the support provided by the service. People were treated with dignity and respect and supported to regain as much independence as possible, at a pace which suited them.
People received personalised care which met their need and wishes. Regular reviews were completed, to discuss people’s progress and ensure their support plans were up to date and accurate. Information on how to raise a concern or complaint was provided to each person using the service. None of the people or relatives we spoke with had any concerns. Any complaints which had been submitted, had been managed appropriately.
The service was well run with a clear leadership system in place. Staff enjoyed working for the service and felt supported in their roles. This was evidenced by the low staff turnover rate and length of people’s employment. Regular meetings were held to review people’s care and provide support to staff. A new, robust auditing system had been designed and implemented along with an ongoing action plan, to ensure continuous improvement.
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 20 February 2019) and there was one breach of the regulations. 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.