13 July 2015
During a routine inspection
We inspected Community Integrated Care (CIC) on 13 and 14 July 2015. The inspection was unannounced. CIC provides personal care services to people who live in self-contained flats within supported living accommodation across Leicester. The agency headquarters are in Leicester City centre. The service was providing support for 27 people at the time of our visit.
The service has a registered manager. 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, and associated Regulations, about how the service is run.
Relatives said they thought their family members were safe at the home and had peace of mind about them being there. Staff knew how to keep people safe and ensured they had the support they needed to live as safely and independently as possible.
Staff had been trained to keep people safe and understood the signs of abuse and how to report any concerns they might have. People who lacked capacity to make certain decisions were effectively supported with staff using the least restrictive methods available.
There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Staff had the time to both support people and interact socially with them. Staff were safely recruited and the right skills and experience to provide safe care. Medicines were safely managed and given to people in the prescribed way.
People liked the food served and relatives said their family members enjoyed it. The menus we saw were based on people's choices and took into account any relevant health advice.
People’s health care needs were identified and care plans put in place to assist staff in meeting them in conjunction with health care professionals where necessary. Relatives told us staff acted quickly if people using the service needed medical attention.
People and their relatives told us the staff were caring and kind. We observed a caring atmosphere when staff worked in the homes we visited and staff followed people's preferred activities programs.
Relatives told us the staff were always respectful to the people using the service and we observed this during our inspection. Relatives told us the staff provided personalised care that focused on the needs of the individuals.
Care plans instructed staff on how to support people in the way they wanted. All the staff we spoke with had a good understanding of people’s individual needs.
Relatives told us that if they had any concerns they would raise them. Records showed that if someone did complain or raise a concern, this was documented and the manager took action to put things right.
All the relatives and staff we spoke with said they thought the service was well-led. The focus was on people's individual needs at the centre of how the service was run.
Relatives told us the management were always friendly and approachable. The manager had systems in place to monitor and assess the overall quality of the service.