We carried out a review of the data available to us about Age UK York on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Age UK York, you can give feedback on this service.
Age Concern York Bridge the Gap Service is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to older people, people who may be living with mental health issues, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, dementia, or people with an eating disorder. On the day of our inspection, there were 20 people using the service.
Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; 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
People continued to receive a good service. People and relatives gave positive feedback about the service. People's risks were safely managed. Sufficient numbers of staff were employed to support them in taking risks. People were safely supported with handling medicines. The provider recruited staff safely.
Staff were trained, skilled and well supported by the provider. People had good relationships with the staff who protected their rights to lead a normal life. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice
Feedback from people in surveys was that staff were kind and caring. People were respected, staff championed their privacy and dignity and encouraged their independence in all aspects of life.
Staff were motivated to provide person-centred care based on people's choices and preferences. They were dedicated and praised for this by health and social care professionals.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC’s website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 29 March 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
Age Concern York Bridge the Gap Service, is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Their main office is centred in York and there is paid parking available on the road outside and at a long stay car park nearby. The service is registered to provide support to: people living with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health, older people, people with an eating disorder, physical disability and sensory impairment.
At the time of our inspection, the service was providing the registered activity of personal care for nine people in their own homes.
The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and, on the day of our inspection, there was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 workers we spoke with understood the types of abuse they might see and knew how to respond to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse.
People's needs were assessed and risk assessments put in place. However, we found this information about people was not always consistently recorded but was updated during our inspection.
The service had a safe recruitment process and used a pre-planned rota system that ensured that they had sufficient care workers to meet people's needs.
Pre-employment checks were completed before employees commenced their role, which meant only those people considered suitable to work with vulnerable people were employed.
Systems and processes had been implemented that helped to ensure medicines for people were administered safely in line with policy and procedure. Medicines audits were completed monthly and, along with spot checks on care workers administering medicines, highlighted any areas for improvement.
Where accidents and incidents had been reported we found a system in place to record and evaluate the event and the registered manager signed these off.
Training was managed electronically and this included areas the registered provider considered essential and other areas that were specific to people's individual needs. This meant care workers had the appropriate knowledge required to meet with people's individual needs.
The registered provider was working with the legal requirements of legislation under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Care workers had received training in the MCA and had a good understanding of the act and how it impacted on their daily role. Care workers told us they always assumed people had capacity unless assessments identified otherwise.
People were encouraged to maintain their independence and reviews of the type and amount of support they required were continuous. We found examples where the amount of support people required when first leaving hospital did on occasion reduce due to the quality and assessment of the care and support they received.
People were involved in their care planning and we saw, where people had capacity to do so, they had signed their consent to the care and support along with the main carer and the registered provider.
People received their care and support from regular care workers meaning that care workers knew how best to support that person. This consistency helped people to develop a meaningful, caring relationship with their care workers.
Care workers understood the value of treating people with dignity and respecting their wishes and preferences. People told us that care workers treated them with dignity and respect and care workers told us they understood how to maintain their confidentiality.
As part of quality assurance, the registered provider completed operational audits of medicines, reviewed care plans and sought feedback where people had received a short term service. The registered manager told us it was their intention to complete additional surveys and evaluate the feedback to identify any emerging trends and improve the service for people as the service started to grow in size.
Other spot checks were carried out on care workers delivering the service in people’s homes. These measures helped to ensure people received the best possible care and ensured consistency across the service. Feedback on practice was provided to care workers as a result.