Archived: Universal Care Services Northampton

Updated 22 March 2017

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.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 14, 15, 16 and 17 February 2017. It was undertaken by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete 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. We reviewed the completed PIR before the inspection. We also sent out questionnaires to some of the people who used the service, their families, staff and other health professionals.

We checked the information we held about the service including statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the previous inspection report.

We contacted the health and social care commissioners who monitor the care and support of people living in their own home.

During the inspection we visited one person who used the service and spoke with four people, ten members of staff, which included five care staff, an administrator, a team leader, the registered manager, a regional manager and the provider. We also spoke to four relatives of people who were unable to speak for themselves.

We reviewed the care records of four people who used the service and three staff recruitment files. We also reviewed records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service.

Updated 22 March 2017

This inspection took place on the 14, 15, 16 and 17 February 2017 and was unannounced. The service is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes when they are unable to manage their own care. At the time of the inspection there were 59 people using the service.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

Care and support was not always delivered as described in people’s care plan; people did not always know which staff were coming to care for them and some staff were not always spending the time with people that had been agreed.

The provider had recognised that changes needed to be made and had taken steps to improve the monitoring of the quality and safety of the service. The systems in place were yet to be fully embedded.

People were cared for by staff caring and kind. Care plans were person-centred and detailed people’s preferences, likes and dislikes and past history. Risk assessments were in place which helped staff to deliver safe care to people and mitigate any identified risk.

Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and poor practice and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. People told us that they felt safe. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that there was sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people they were supporting. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and were supported to have access to healthcare services when needed.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People had good relationships with staff that provided their care regularly. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The management was approachable and both the people and the staff were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.