YourLife (Northampton)

Updated 25 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced on the morning of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or a manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 April 2022 and ended on 27 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 11 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 10 February 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the manager, regional manager and three care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 25 May 2022

About the service

YourLife (Northampton) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own apartments. The service provides support to older people and people with dementia, physical disability and sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were five people using the service.

People using the service lived in their own apartments within a shared building. There was a communal lounge, games room and dining room available for people who wished to use them and meals could be provided on site.

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.

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

The provider’s quality monitoring systems were not always followed and manager audits had not consistently identified gaps or inconsistency in record keeping.

There was no registered manager in place at the time of the inspection, a manager had been recruited who was planning to register with the Care Quality Commission.

Systems and processes protected people from the risk of abuse. People felt safe with staff and had developed positive relationships. Staff were confident in recognising the signs of abuse and how to report it.

Risk assessments were completed and updated regularly. Measures were in place to mitigate risks and staff told us these reflected people’s current needs. Positive risk taking was supported.

There were enough staff in place to meet people’s needs and preferences. Recruitment checks took place to ensure staff suitability for the role.

Staff felt well supported and received regular supervision and skills monitoring.

Medicines were managed safely by trained and competent staff who supported people’s independence in this area as much as possible.

People were protected from the risk of infection. The provider had ensured the latest government guidance was communicated with staff and followed.

Accidents and incidents were managed safely. Staff were trained in how to manage an accident or incident, they were appropriately recorded, monitored and action taken to prevent reoccurrence.

People’s feedback was sought and listened to. People were supported to be actively involved and engaged in their care and the local community. People’s independence and choice was supported.

The provider and management team worked with other health and care professionals where required, to ensure good outcomes for people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 December 2019)

Why we inspected This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We had concerns in relation to the safety and management of the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for YourLife (Northampton) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.