Unique Options + Limited

Updated 22 October 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. This means that they 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 4 October 2021 and ended on 11 October 2021. We visited the office location on 7 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with five social workers or advocates of people who use the service. We contacted and received feedback from two members of staff and met and spoke with the registered manager and a support worker. The registered manager is also the registered provider for this service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 22 October 2021

About the service

Unique Options+ Limited is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs who are living in their own homes. 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. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting six people with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were very happy with the care they received, and they told us they felt safe when receiving care from the service. There were enough staff employed to ensure people received consistent and timely care. People told us they knew which staff would be visiting them, staff arrived at their agreed times and stayed and provided support for the agreed length of time.

Recruitment processes were in place and checks were completed before staff started working at the service. Some improvements to record keeping around recruitment were discussed, and these improvements had started to be implemented by the registered manager and provider. There were systems in place to ensure people’s medicines were managed safely and people were protected from the risk of infection.

Staff knew how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and other identified risks to people were assessed and mitigated.

Before people started using the service, their needs and preferences were assessed, to ensure the service could provide the level of care each person wanted. 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. People were supported to eat, drink and maintain a balanced diet. People were supported by staff who received training and supervision to ensure they had the right knowledge and skills to support people effectively.

People were treated with respect by staff who were kind and caring. Care plans recorded how people were involved in their care. Their views and wishes were at the centre of their support. Care plans provided detailed direction to enable staff to deliver care which respected people's privacy and dignity. Daily notes recorded how staff encouraged people's independence.

People received personalised support from staff who knew them well. Staff had built positive relationships with the people they cared for and supported. Staff supported people to retain their independence and to remain involved in planning and reviewing their care. This helped to ensure care was provided in accordance with people’s preferences.

The service had an open culture. Staff at all levels displayed a desire to provide good quality, person-centred care to people. The registered manager regularly sought feedback from people to ensure the service was tailored to their needs and preferences. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and the safety of the service provided. However, some monitoring and staff record keeping needed to be more structured, embedded and sustained to ensure they remained effective.

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 CQC on 12 May 2020 and this was the service’s first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.