You & I Care -Chelmsford

Updated 19 November 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed 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, flats and specialist housing.

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. The registered manager is also the provider of You & I Care – Chelmsford.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity commenced on 29 September 2021 and ended on 9 November 2021. We visited the office location on 29 September 2021 and made telephone calls to relatives and staff on 9 November 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and their Medication Administration Records [MAR]. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment practices, staff training, supervision and spot visits. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We continued to look at information relating to the management of the service. We spoke with two people’s relatives and three members of staff.

Updated 19 November 2021

About the service

You & I Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to two people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. 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

Relatives told us their family member was safe and they had no concerns about their safety. Suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff understood how to raise concerns and knew what to do to safeguard people. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were assessed, recorded and followed by staff. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure people received their medication as they should. Enough numbers of staff were available to support people safely. Staff recruitment and selection practices and procedures were robust. People were protected by the service’s prevention and control of infection arrangements.

Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure staff were trained and newly appointed staff received an appropriate induction. Staff felt valued and supported by the registered manager. People were supported with their dietary requirement needs. The service ensured they worked collaboratively with others and people were supported to access healthcare services and needed. 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 support this practice.

Relatives confirmed their family member was treated with care, kindness, respect and dignity. Relatives were consistently reassuring about staffs caring attitude, confirming there were positive interactions with staff. People’s care and support needs were clearly documented, and staff had a good understanding and knowledge of these and the care to be delivered.

People told us the service was well managed. Quality assurance arrangements enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of the service provided and staff performance.

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 in June 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the service’s first inspection since being newly registered.

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.