Archived: STEPS East

Updated 19 July 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and 2 Experts by Experience. 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. The STEPS branch provides reablement support and the Corcare branch provides long term domiciliary support.

Registered Manager

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 1 working days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 7 July 2023 and ended on 12 July 2023. We visited the office location on 7 July 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service and the provider which included any statutory notifications sent to the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. The provider had completed a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to 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 reviewed 4 people's care plans and risk assessments. We reviewed staff training and supervision records. We also reviewed other records relating to the management of the service. We met with two care staff during the office visit. We spoke with the registered manager and two supervisors. We spoke with 12 relatives and 17 people receiving care and support and received email feedback from 13 staff on 11 and 12 July 2023.

Updated 19 July 2023

About the service

STEPS and Corcare East is a community-based care provider made up of two distinct areas of provision. The STEPS branch of the service provided short term reablement support to people who were returning from hospital to their own homes, and Corcare provided long-term domiciliary care. The service covered the east of Cornwall. At the time of inspection 50 people were receiving a reablement service from the STEPS team and 39 people were receiving long term domiciliary care from Corcare branch of the service,

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

The primary focus of the STEPS reablement service was to support people to regain their independence. The Corcare branch provided domiciliary care to people with long term needs. There were two distinct teams of staff for each branch of the service. Staff told us, "I love this job, I am so useful. We are a real team working to help each person as an individual” and "It is a fantastic team. We all talk to each other regularly about each person to ensure they are getting the outcome they need."

STEPS staff carried out initial assessments to identify what people wanted to achieve and set goals. The goals were monitored regularly, and new ones set in line with people's progress. The aim was to increase people's independence.

Corcare care plans described people’s long term needs and their levels of dependence on the staff for many aspects of daily living. All care plans were reviewed regularly to help ensure they were up to date and relevant.

Risks were identified, assessed and recorded. Environmental risks to visiting staff were also assessed. Care plans contained details of the people's needs and preferences.

People told us they felt safe when being supported by staff and were able to increase their independence in a way that felt comfortable for them. There were systems to help protect people from abuse and to investigate any allegations, incidents or accidents.

There were sufficient staff employed to cover the visits required by people. Staff were provided with adequate travel time to enable them to carry out visits at the time of the person’s choosing.

The recruitment process was managed by the provider and all personnel files were held at head office. We received evidence from the provider that appropriate checks were made before people were employed, including references which were checked against the dates provided by new staff regarding their past employment.

There were robust auditing or monitoring processes in place at the time of this inspection. People were regularly asked for their views and experiences of the service provided.

The service had implemented effective quality assurance systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. Spot checks were carried out to monitor staff performance. Staff were well supported and asked for their views.

People and their relatives spoke positively about staff and told us they were happy with the service they received. We were told staff were friendly, they were treated with kindness and compassion and their privacy and dignity was respected. Comments included, “They are lovely, nice people,” “Yes, they support me. They are helping me to be independent” and “They did what I wanted them to do.”

People were supported by staff who had been mostly appropriately trained and were skilled in their role. Some staff in the Corcare branch of the service needed to complete some training. The provider was aware of this and there was a plan to address this.

People received support to maintain good health and were supported to maintain a balanced diet where this was part of their care plan.

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.

Staff understood the importance of respecting people's diverse needs and promoting independence. People using both the STEPS and the Corcare branch of the service did not have any capacity issues at the time of this inspection. People were always asked for their consent prior to care being provided.

There were clear lines of responsibility which were known and understood by the staff team. Audits of all aspects of the service were completed by the registered manager. The service engaged pro-actively with other agencies to help provide joined up care with positive outcomes for people.

There was a registered manager at the time of this inspection.

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 on 28 April 2022 by a new provider, and this is the first inspection of this location. The last inspection for this service was rated good on 9 June 2021.

Why we inspected

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

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