Archived: Quality Care Team Limited

Updated 15 September 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 announced inspection took place on 19 and 24 August 2016. It was undertaken by one inspector. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office at other services that they manage. We needed to be sure they would be present for our inspection.

Before our inspection we looked at all the information we held about the service including notifications. A notification is information about events that the registered persons are required, by law, to tell us about.

We asked for feedback from the commissioners of people’s care and Healthwatch Cambridge.

During our inspection we spoke with five people, and one person’s relative, about the service they received from Quality Care Team Limited. We also spoke with the registered manager and four care workers. We also received feedback from a specialist nurse and an occupational therapist.

We looked at four people’s care records, staff training records and other records relating to the management of the service. These included audits and survey results.

Updated 15 September 2016

Quality care Team Limited provides personal care for people living in their own homes. This includes short visits and live in care.

This unannounced inspection took place on 19 and 24 August 2016. There were 24 people receiving care at that time.

Our last inspection took place on 22 July 2015. The overall rating was requires improvement, with improvements needed to be made to the risk assessment process, the management of medicines and the management of people’s money. In addition, where people did not have the mental capacity to make decisions, processes were not in place to protect people from unlawful restriction and unlawful decision making. This was a breach of Regulation 11. During our inspection on 19 and 24 August 2016, we saw the necessary improvements had been made.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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.

Staff were only employed after the provider had carried out comprehensive and satisfactory pre-employment checks. Staff were well trained, and well supported, by the registered manager. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s assessed needs. Systems were in place to ensure people’s safety was effectively managed. Staff were aware of the procedures for reporting concerns and of how to protect people from harm.

People received their prescribed medicines appropriately. People’s health, care and nutritional needs were effectively met.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. We found that there were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making. Staff respected people choices and staff were aware of the key legal requirements of the MCA and DoLS.

People received care and support from staff who were kind, caring and respectful to the people they were caring for. People and their relatives had opportunities to comment on the service provided and people were involved in every day decisions about their care.

Care records were detailed and care plans provided staff with sufficient guidance to provide consistent care to each person. Changes to people’s care was kept under review to ensure the change was effective.

The service was well run and the registered manager was approachable. People and relatives were encouraged to provide feedback on the service in various ways both formally and informally. People’s views were listened to and acted on. People were aware of how to make a complaint should the need arise and were confident their concerns would be taken seriously.