We carried out a review of the data available to us about GT Care (Wakefield) Limited 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 GT Care (Wakefield) Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to adults with learning disabilities. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care.' This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting four people with personal care.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd also has a day centre. This part of their service is not regulated by CQC.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safely supported and had secure relationships with staff, with consistent staff deployment to meet people’s individual needs. Recruitment practices focused on ensuring people with shared values worked with GT Care.
Individual risk assessments were documented clearly in support plans and there was full consideration for people’s safety in activities such as swimming.
Infection prevention and control measures were in place and known by staff, people who used the service and relatives. Clear information and reassurance for people and staff about COVID-19 had been continuously provided.
Safety related training was prioritised, such as positive behaviour support. Staff were confident in their abilities to keep people safe. Restraint reduction was given high priority and this was monitored closely.
Medicines were managed safely, with clear recording.
The service applied the full range of the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
People's support was focused on them having as many opportunities as possible to gain new skills and become more independent. 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. People were supported with healthy lifestyles and encouraged to make healthy choices in relation to food and nutrition.
Staff understood the unique and individual needs of the young people they supported and were passionate and committed to ensuring the best outcomes for everyone.
Records of people’s care and support were written in a person-centred way. Consideration was given to how people could be best supported to achieve their independent goals and ambitions, in ways which were meaningful to them.
The organisation was committed to driving improvement. The management team had worked hard to ensure improvements to the service were implemented and embedded. Step up roles empowered staff to be fully involved and take ownership for their contribution to the work of GT Care. Positive feedback was given about the registered manager and how they were highly supportive. Staff felt listened to, involved and valued and were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Recognition and reward incentives supported staff morale well.
There was a clearly set out governance model. Quality checks were carried out, and there was closer oversight of the service. The key values and vision of the service were known by staff and embedded in the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was Requires improvement (report published June 2020). The provider had made positive changes to drive improvement to good; we therefore completed a comprehensive inspection to reflect these improvements.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection to follow up on the issues raised at the last inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to adults with learning disabilities. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care.' This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was providing five people with personal care.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd also has a day centre. This part of their service is not regulated by CQC.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Medicines were managed safely. Some improvement was required for PRN ‘as and when’ required medicine documentation. Staff were recruited safely. People received support from staff they were familiar with. Care plans and risks assessments detailed what care and support people needed to reduce risk to them. People said they felt safe. A relative told us they thought their relatives were kept safe. People were protected from the risk of infections.
Audits to monitor medicine administration records and documentation did not identify the concerns we found on inspection. People and a relative told us staff were kind and caring. People and their families were involved with the planning of their care said they felt listened to.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. 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 website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires inadequate (published 12 March 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
This service has been in Special Measures since 12 March 2020. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures. However, we found there was still a continuing breach of regulation 17.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 12 March 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, staffing, person-centred care and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain some of those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified a continuing continued breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.
For requirement actions of enforcement which we are able to publish at the time of the report being published: Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report..
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to adults with learning disabilities. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care.' This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was providing eight people with personal care.
GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd also has a day centre. This part of their service is not regulated by CQC.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People did not always receive safe, well managed care. Staffing was not robustly organised to ensure people received the level of support they needed. Medicines were not safely managed.
The service did not apply the full range of the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
People's support was not always focused on them having as many opportunities as possible to gain new skills and become more independent. People did not always have choice in the routine of the day.
People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.
Staff received appropriate training but were not always supported well to work with people. Some staff were deployed for continuous shifts and without breaks.
Staff were kind, patient and caring with the people they supported.
Management of the service was not robust. The registered manager had responsibility for this service and another of the provider’s locations, although the provider has since informed us of their intentions to recruit another manager so the locations to be managed separately. Systems and processes with which to monitor the quality of the provision were not effective. There were low levels of staff satisfaction and communication was not effective to ensure all staff felt engaged and supported.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was Inadequate (published February 2019). Since this rating was awarded the service has moved premises and the provider has changed the name from Clark Hall to GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd. We have used the previous rating and enforcement action taken to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
This service has been in Special Measures since February 2019. During this inspection the provider did not demonstrate sufficient improvements had been made. The service remains in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing levels, quality of care and people’s safety. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see all sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for GT Care (Wakefield) Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to people’s care, consent, safety, recruitment, staffing and leadership at this inspection.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Special Measures:
The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service remains in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.
If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.
For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it., and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.