Unicare Recruitment Agency Ltd

Updated 29 April 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

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

In line with our new approach we gave short period notice of this inspection and explained what was involved under the new methodology.

Inspection activity took place on 5 April 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 reviewed information we held about the provider including statutory notifications received about key events that occurred at the service.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

We spoke with one person’s relative, two care workers, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also received feedback from a social worker working with the person receiving support. We reviewed records relating to the care provided, staffing and the management of the service.

Updated 29 April 2022

About the service

Unicare Recruitment Agency provides personal care support to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection one person under 18 years old was receiving support. The service is able to support both adults and children. 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 received safe care and treatment. Staff were aware of risks to people’s safety and how to manage those risks. There were clear care plans in place that detailed a person’s support needs and how they wished to be supported. Staff involved the person with the legal authority, to make decisions in a person’s 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.

The person was treated well and had built good relationships with the staff supporting them. Staff respected the person’s privacy and dignity. They were supporting the person to learn new skills and develop their independence. Staff understood how the person communicated and had received additional training in non-verbal communication methods.

There were a team of regular staff supporting the person. They attended care calls on time and stayed the required length of time to provide the level of support the person required.

Staff received regular training and support to ensure their knowledge and skills were up to date with best practice guidance. The registered manager had systems in place to review and improve the quality of care. Staff liaised with health, social care and educational professionals involved in a person’s care to ensure coordinated care that provided good outcomes for the person receiving support.

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

Rating at last

This service was registered with us on 3 October 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.