Unity Care Solutions (Lewes)

Updated 17 September 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 undertaken 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 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the site visit to the office. 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 August 2022 and ended on 12 August 2022. We visited the location’s office on 9 August 2022

What we did before the inspection

Due to their complex health and social care needs people were unable to communicate with us. Therefore, we contacted and received feedback from the relatives of five people who used the service. We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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 all this information to plan our inspection. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office and met with the registered manager, clinical lead and compliance manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, a variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed. The registered manager sent us information relating to staff training, supervision and staff meetings. We spoke with five staff about their experience of working at the service.

We received feedback from three health and social care professionals who supported people who used the service.

Updated 17 September 2022

About the service

Unity Care Solutions (Lewes) is a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to adults and children who have complex health and care needs that require high levels of support. At the time of the inspection 12 people were 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 received care and support that was safe. Risks to people were well managed and staff understood the risks associated with people's individual needs. This included risks associated with people’s health and medicines.

Staff had been recruited safely. People received support from staff who had been specifically recruited to meet their complex needs. This meant that on occasions it was not always possible to cover staffing if there was sickness or annual leave. This was discussed and agreed with people and their family. People were protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff knew what actions they should take if they identified concerns.

People's needs were holistically assessed in line with standards, guidance and the law. People's preferences were detailed in their care plans for staff to follow. People received support from trained, experienced staff. Staff received training that was specific to people’s assessed needs. Training was regularly reviewed to ensure staff retained the appropriate knowledge and skills. Where required people were supported to receive appropriate nutritional support.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. They worked hard to ensure people received the care and support they needed. People received support from the same small team of staff. This enabled staff to get to know people well and understand and respect what was important to each person and their family.

People received care and support that was personalised to their own requirements. Care was planned in a personalised way and the management team carried out regular observations to check that people were receiving this care. Staff knew how people wanted to be communicated with and made information accessible to them. There was a complaints policy and complaints were responded to appropriately.

The culture of the service was positive. The registered manager had good oversight of the service and understood his roles and responsibilities. The quality assurance system helped to ensure the service was regularly monitored and identified areas for improvement and development.

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.

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 10 March 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service at the previous location was Good, published on 26 June 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted because it was more than 12 months since the provider had made changes to their registration.

Follow up

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