Rainbow Outreach and Healthcare Solutions Limited Cambridgeshire

Updated 27 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.

We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

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 and specialist housing. The staff live with the people they support.

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 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with one relative during this inspection, we also spoke with two care staff and the registered manager. We looked at a selection of two people’s care plans and risk assessments. We also looked at a staff recruitment file, medication records, policies and procedures, training and supervisions records and records that helped the provider monitor the quality of the service provided.

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

This inspection started on 11 March 2022 and ended on 24 March 2022.

Updated 27 April 2022

About the service

Rainbow Outreach and Healthcare Solutions Limited Cambridgeshire is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to two people. The service provides live-in care support to people. This means the staff member lives with the person they are supporting for an agreed time period. At the time of our inspection there were two people being supported with the regulated activity of personal care in their own homes.

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.

We undertook this inspection at the same time as CQC inspected a range of urgent and emergency care services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. To understand the experience of social care providers and people who use social care services, we asked a range of questions in relation to accessing urgent and emergency care. The responses we received have been used to inform and support system wide feedback.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff knew the people they supported well. Staff were kind, polite and respectful towards the people they supported. People’s equality, diversity and human rights were promoted and respected. There were enough knowledgeable and trained staff to help meet people’s care and support needs.

Staff were trained and were able to develop their skills and career through further training. Trained staff, including external agency staff had medicines administration spot checks undertaken to check their competency. Staff were encouraged to discuss and review their performance with their registered manager through supervision and regular conversations. Potential new staff to the service had checks carried out on them to ensure they were suitable to work with the people they supported.

Support from staff helped make people and their relative feel reassured. Staff demonstrated their understanding of how to keep people safe from poor care or harm. Staff knew they should report any concerns they may have had to their registered manager or to external organisations such as the local authority or the police.

Where people wanted to discuss their end of life wishes this information was recorded to guide staff. Staff had access to information in peoples’ care plans and risk assessments that helped guide them to care and support people effectively. Staff had plenty of single use personal protective equipment, such as gloves, aprons and face masks. Infection control practices were in place to reduce the risk of cross contamination. There were systems in place to learn lessons when an incident or accident occurred or there was a risk of this.

Staff supported and encouraged people to drink and eat plenty and healthily. People were given choices and these choices were respected by staff. Staff helped promote and maintain people’s privacy and dignity. Staff also encouraged people to be as independent as possible. Staff supported people and relatives to be involved in discussions around their, or their family members, support and care needs. People and their relatives felt listened to, respected and their wishes and preferences valued by staff.

The registered manager and staff, when required, worked with external health and social care professionals. This helped people to receive joined up care and support. Whilst no complaints about the service had been received, there was a process in place to investigate and take actions as a result of learning to try to reduce the risk of recurrence. Communication was good.

People, their relatives and staff were asked to feedback on the service. Information was available in different formats when required to help enable people’s understanding. Pre-assessments were undertaken on potential new people to the service, this helped make sure there were enough suitably trained staff to support people in line with current guidance and legislation. Audits were undertaken to monitor the quality of the service provided and drive forward any improvements needed.

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.

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 24 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This is the first inspection since the service registered with the CQC on 24 March 2020.

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 phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

Follow up

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