Integrated Care and Support Services LTD

Updated 16 March 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

This inspection was conducted by one adult social care inspector on all days of the inspection.

Service and service type:

Integrated care and Support Services is a domiciliary care service providing support and personal care to people in their own homes; including respite and short break services.

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

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit because it is a small service and we needed to make sure that someone would be available.

The inspection site visit started on 14 February and ended on 27 February 2019. We visited the provider's office on 14 February to see the registered manager and to review care records and other records relevant to the quality monitoring of the service.

What we did:

Our planning took into account information we held about the service. This included information the provider sent us in their provider information return (PIR) since the last inspection and information about incidents the provider must notify us about. We looked at issues raised in complaints and how the service responded to them. We obtained information from the local authority commissioners and safeguarding team. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we observed the care and support provided by staff and spoke with three family members to ask about their experience of care. We also spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and three members of staff. We looked at four people’s care records and a selection and other records including quality monitoring records, recruitment and training records for four staff and records of checks carried out on the premises and equipment.

Updated 16 March 2019

About the service: Integrated Care and Support Services (I.C.A.S.S) is a domiciliary care agency that provides support to young adults with complex needs; the service provides support to people in their own homes as well as offering short break and respite services. At the time of our inspection 12 people were receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

The management team and staff at I.C.A.S.S pride themselves on supporting people to access a range of social activities to allow them to live as normal a life as any other person. The provider’s ethos is “everyone is equal and we should focus on ability not disability”. People are at the forefront of the service and encouraged and supported to make decisions about how aspects of the service should run. The ‘service user led’ approach taken by the management team has allowed people to develop the confidence to offer their views and feedback.

People had access to a wide range of social activities and were instrumental in the planning and development of the services’ activity planner. Activities were developed to help promote independence, skill development, social inclusion and healthy lives.

Staff were motivated to deliver care that was person-centred and based on people’s needs and preferences. People were encouraged to be independent and supported by staff to do so. Positive comments were received regarding the caring approach of the staff team and how well they knew people’s needs. Positive relationships had been developed between staff and people using the service. People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect and staff interacted well with people.

Family members told us they felt their relatives were safe when being supported by staff and wee confident they were well looked after. Risks people faced were assessed and those identified were safely managed by competent staff. Where people required support with medication this was managed safely and family members confirmed people received medication on time. Staff showed a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities of keeping people safe from harm. The environment was clean and safe and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed.

Enough suitably qualified and skilled staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff received a range of training and support appropriate to their role and people’s needs. Staff told us they received a good level of support from the management team and were encouraged to develop within their roles.

People’s needs and choices had been assessed and planned for. Care plans identified intended outcomes for people and how they were to be met in a way they preferred. People were supported to have sufficient food and drinks and encouraged participate in meal preparation where appropriate. The healthcare needs of people were met and understood.

The leadership of the service promoted person-centred care and a positive culture within the staff team. Staff and family members described the management team as supportive and approachable. By using effective quality assurance systems and working closely with other organisations and community groups, the management team showed a desire to continuously improve on the service provided.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published September 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating from our previous inspection.