Archived: Support In Mind Team

Updated 18 June 2022

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

The inspection was carried out by one 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

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

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. Inspection activity started on 9 May 2022 and ended on 20 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 9 May 2022 and met with the registered manager on 20 May 2022

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 1 March 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, team leader and three care staff. We reviewed records relating to the running of the service and four people’s care and medication records. We reviewed two staff files to look at recruitment training and supervision records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 18 June 2022

About the service

Support in Mind Team is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to seven people.

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

The provider did not ensure systems were in place to effectively oversee the service. Quality checks had not been routinely completed. Accidents and incidents were not always reviewed promptly, and action was not always taken to prevent a re-occurrence. Some people’s care plans and risk assessments had not been recently reviewed.

Relatives spoke extremely positively about the service provided. They were happy with call times and said people were supported by the same staff. They said people felt safe and told us staff were exceptionally caring. One relative said, “Staff are always, brilliant, kind and understanding.”

People’s care needs were assessed. They received appropriate support with their nutrition and health needs. Medicines were managed safely. People were supported in a warm and caring way by staff who knew them well. Staff spoke passionately about offering person centred care to people.

Staff asked people for consent before providing any care. 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 encouraged people to make decisions about their own care, and promoted people’s rights to dignity, independence and privacy.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 15 January 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services which have had a recent Direct Monitoring Approach (DMA) assessment where no further action was needed to seek assurance about this decision and to identify learning about the DMA process.

The overall rating for the service has changed from outstanding to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report..

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Support in Mind Team on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.