Background to this inspection
Updated
20 February 2019
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This inspection took place on 9, 11 and 14 January 2019. We gave 48 hours notice before the first day of our inspection to ensure someone would be in the office. The first day of our inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors. Two Experts by Experience made phone calls on the same date to find out about people’s experience of receiving this service. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Days two and three of the inspection were announced and carried out by one adult social care inspector.
We spoke with a total of two people and 25 relatives (family carers) to ask about their experience of this service. We also spoke with the registered manager, chief executive officer, business development manager, four office staff and six care support workers. We looked at eight care plans in detail and seven medication administration records.
Before our inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the organisation. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
Before the inspection, the registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
Updated
20 February 2019
At our last inspection in May 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
This inspection took place on 9, 11 and 14 January 2019. At the time of our inspection, 145 people were receiving a service which included personal care.
Carers Trust Mid Yorkshire is a provider of direct support for carers in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield. They provide a range of support services for carers and the people they look after. The location is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care to people of all ages.
At the time of our inspection, Carers Trust Mid Yorkshire had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and relatives consistently said they felt safe receiving this service. Care support workers knew how to identify and report abuse as they had received training for this.
The recruitment process required improvement in some areas to ensure this was robust. Accidents and incidents required further action to ensure the information gathered from these events was used to update care plans and risk assessments.
Risks to people had been identified and assessed and information on how to reduce the likelihood of harm was provided for care support workers.
People and relatives we spoke with were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of care they received.
People received their support on time and care support workers stayed for the full duration of their visit. Family carers received a handover at the end of a visit and care support workers recorded care they provided in daily notes. These records showed care plans were followed. Care plans were person-centred and provided care support workers with relevant information about people and their care needs. These were reviewed annually or sooner if needed.
People's equality, diversity and human rights were respected. People and relatives confirmed they were treated with dignity and respect by care support workers. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care support workers supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People and relatives knew how to complain if they were dissatisfied with their service. The October 2018 satisfaction survey showed people were happy with the way complaints were managed.
Training was a strength of the service and care support workers told us they always had training relevant to the needs of people they were caring for. Regular supervision, appraisal and team meetings ensured staff were well supported. Care support workers felt confident about approaching the senior management team if needed.
People and staff had completed satisfaction surveys which the registered provider planned to give feedback on through newsletters and on their website. Spot checks were carried out regularly which helped to ensure a high quality of care. Evidence of lessons learned was seen which showed a commitment to continuous improvement.
People confirmed they received their medication as prescribed from care support workers. We saw they had received training for this and they all had an up-to-date check of their competency. People were supported to ensure they had enough to eat and drink and their dietary needs were being met. Care support workers assisted people where they needed access to healthcare.
Strong evidence of partnership working was seen through a wide range of agencies in the community. The registered provider’s links with these services meant they were able to signpost family carers to other valuable support.