About the service Total Case Management is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and treatment of disease, disorder and injury to 11 people at the time of the inspection.
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 were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Relatives and staff told us that people had been involved with decision making however, records did not always reflect the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. We have made a recommendation about improving records relating to the MCA.
Care plans and risk assessments were thorough and gave staff detailed guidance on how to keep people safe from avoidable harm. Relatives told us that their loved ones were kept safe. Comments included, “I feel [person] is safe in their care, I feel comfortable going out and leaving [person] with staff.”
Staff were safely recruited, and people were fully involved with the selection of their staff teams. Staff received training and competency checks to ensure they administered medicines in line with best practice standards. Staff received training in infection control and used personal protective equipment (PPE) to help prevent the spread of infections.
Care plans showed detailed information around people's eating and drinking needs and included people's preferences. Innovative methods had been introduced to encourage people to be more independent with food and drink. Staff followed the advice of healthcare professionals and people achieved positive outcomes because the relationships between organisations were effective.
People were treated with kindness and respect. Relatives told us, “The care [staff] give is outstanding.” People's communication needs were recorded in their care plan. Where people had limited verbal communication, assistive technologies were used effectively to allow them to express their views and be involved in decision making.
Relatives felt that the service was helping to meet their loved ones needs, preferences and outcomes. The views of people using the service were at the core of quality monitoring and assurance arrangements and governance was well-embedded into the running of the service. People told us they had not had to raise a complaint but felt they would be listened to and felt confident any issues would be resolved.
The service had a systematic approach to working with other professionals to improve care outcomes and to ensure people met their goals. Visiting professionals spoke positively about the person centred care provided.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This is the first inspection for this newly registered service.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.