Unity Care

Updated 12 December 2018

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.

This was a comprehensive inspection and the inspection visit took place on 19 November 2018 and was unannounced. The membership of the inspection team comprised of one inspector.

When planning our inspection we looked at the information we held about the service. This included notifications received from the provider about deaths, accidents/incidents and safeguarding alerts, which they are required to send us by law. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asked the provider to give some key information about the service, what the services does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the Local Authority commissioning service for any relevant information they may have to support our inspection. We also contacted Health Watch Birmingham who provide information on care services.

During our inspection visit we met with two people who used the service and spoke to two relatives, two members of care staff and the registered manager.

We looked at the care records of two people and three staff files as well as the medicine management processes and records that were maintained by the provider about recruitment and staff training. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service and a selection of the service’s policies and procedures to check people received a quality service.

Updated 12 December 2018

The inspection visit took place on 19 November 2018 and was unannounced.

Unity Care is registered to provide care for three people. The service cares for people with learning disabilities and other mental health diagnoses. At the time of our inspection there were two people living at the service.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the last rating inspection in August 2016, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

People were kept safe and secure from risk of harm. Potential risks to people had been assessed and managed appropriately by the provider. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed and were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to ensure that risk of harm was minimised.

Staff had been recruited appropriately and had received relevant training so they were able to support people with their individual care and support needs.

Staff sought people’s consent before providing care and support. 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.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. People’s rights to privacy were respected by the staff that supported them and their dignity was maintained. People were encouraged to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care and support needs.

People’s choices and independence were respected and promoted. Staff responded appropriately to people’s support needs. People received care from staff that knew them well.

People using the service, their relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. The provider had effective auditing systems in place to monitor the effectiveness and quality of service provision. The views of people and their relatives on the quality of the service, were gathered and used to support service development.