About the service Combined Touch Community Interest Company is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living 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. At the time of inspection, six people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives spoke positively about the service and felt it was safe and staff were caring. Comments from a person and a relative included, “They really are the loveliest set of girls. I look forward to them coming. They bring a bit of light into my life” and, “As long as [family member] is happy, comfortable, well-fed, hydrated, dressed and safe, that's all we can ask for, and they are.”
Staff safeguarded people from abuse. There were systems in place to keep people safe. Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were managed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment processes were followed. Medicines were safely administered and managed. The provider had a policy in place to record and manage accidents and incidents. The provider and staff protected people from the risk or spread of infection and followed government guidance in relation to COVID-19.
People’s needs were assessed before they received support. Staff received regular training and were supported through regular supervisions, spot checks and yearly appraisals. Staff supported people with their nutritional needs and to access a range of health care professionals. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff were kind and compassionate and supported people in a respectful, dignified manner. Staff encouraged people to maintain their independence where safe and possible to do so and had advocates in place, where required. Staff spoke affectionately about people and were passionate about their roles. One staff member said, “I love my job and I just feel like this is what I'm meant to do. The people are all lovely. I love them all."
People received person-centred care. Care plans detailed how people wanted to be supported by staff with different tasks. The provider had a complaints procedure in place. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and felt confident in doing so.
People and relatives were extremely happy with the service and felt it was very well-managed. When asked what the provider could do better a relative said, “I think they've got everything right.” The registered manager promoted an open and honest culture and was very approachable. The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place which included regular audits and checks. People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through reviews. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service through meetings and regular communication.
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.
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 23 April 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection to formally rate the service.
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.