Carers Trust Epping, Havering, Harlow and Redbridge (TuVida)

Updated 7 December 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 carried out by two inspectors and one Expert by Experience who contacted people who used the service and relatives after our visit to the office. 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 houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has received an application for the manager to be registered with us.

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 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 the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven relatives of people who used the service to help us understand the experience of people who could not speak with us. We also spoke with one person using the service. We spoke with the manager currently undergoing registration, the interim manager, one supervisor and six care workers. We reviewed seven care records of people using the service, seven personnel files of care workers and other records about the management of the service.

Updated 7 December 2022

About the service

Carers Trust Epping, Havering, Harlow and Redbridge (TuVida) is a homecare service which provides personal care to 17 people. One of the aims of the service is to provide respite to family carers allowing them to have a break from their usual caring responsibilities. The support included accompanying people to planned activities and supporting people while their main family carer was not available. The service provides support to older people, some living with dementia, people with a learning disability and autistic people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. Care Quality Commission (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 expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin

Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and autistic people to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

Right Support: Model of Care and setting that maximises people’s choice, control and independence

Staff, relatives, and people who used the service were positive about the leadership of the service, which centred around the experience of people. Staff were motivated to make a difference to people's lives. The culture of the service encouraged inclusivity for people. Staff worked collaboratively with internal teams and external organisations to provide people with the best possible outcomes. Staff were passionate about promoting people's rights to make their own decisions wherever possible and respected the choices they made.

Right Care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

Staff were well skilled and provided person centred care which achieved positive outcomes for people. Care, support, and guidance were informed by the most current, evidence-based practice. There was a focus on supporting people to be as independent as possible and to lead healthy and fulfilled lives. Staff knew people well and used their expertise to care for people in a way they preferred. They were creative in how they supported people to maintain their hobbies and interests and to keep in touch with their loved ones. 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.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

People were supported to take positive risks to support their development and promote their independence. There were detailed risk assessments in place describing how to support people and mitigate risks. People and relatives told us they felt safe with staff. Staff received safeguarding training and understood their roles and responsibilities. The service had sufficient staff and deployed them to meet the individual needs of the people.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence, and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The model of care promoted within the service maximised people's choice and promoted their independence. Care was person centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy, and human rights. The leadership at location and provider level had achieved a service that was effective and responsive. The service was dedicated ensuring continuous quality improvement made a difference for people. Person-centred care enriched people's lives empowered them and helped them to achieve their aspirations which led to positive outcomes. One relative told us, "I feel that we as a family are fully involved in any decisions about the care my relative receives and any wider decisions which might affect us. We have regular meetings with the manager and are regularly invited to complete surveys.”

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk .

Rating at last inspection and update - The last rating for this service was good (published 12 February 2019)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Carers Trust Epping, Havering, Harlow and Redbridge (TuVida) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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