- Homecare service
Nurtured Care NE
Report from 6 August 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out our on-site assessment on 9 October 2024, off site assessment activity started on 9 September 2024 and ended on 21 October 2024. There were areas for significant improvement in Safe and Well-led, particularly with regard to the planning of care calls and governance. The service performed well against some of the statements we looked at. The registered manager and leadership team have been responsive to our feedback and continued to work with external partners to improve systems and safety. The service has previously been in breach of regulations 12 (safe care and treatment), 17 (good governance). The service was no longer in breach of regulation 12 but remained in breach of regulation 17 and was now in breach of regulation 9 (person-centred care). The provider used an electronic care records system, which was also used to plan and record call times. A sizable proportion of these call times had been significantly below the agreed duration for a number of months. There was a significant minority of people we spoke with who felt staff were either rushed, did not stay for the allotted time, and/or did not arrive on time. The provider gave assurances about their future monitoring and acting on shorter calls, late calls and otherwise poorly planned or actioned calls. Staff were committed to their role and knew people’s needs well. Governance still needed to improve. We found instances of risk assessments that needed improvement, which could have been identified and acted on with more effective auditing and governance arrangements in place.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 15 people who used the service, 10 relatives, and a range of professionals. People shared a range of experiences with us. The majority were positive about the interactions with staff and the levels of care they received, although there was a significant minority raising consistent themes of concern: staff not always arriving on time, not staying the planned duration and a lack of communication from the service if there were delays. A review of call data confirmed there were a range of concerns in these areas that needed prompt action. The provider did take prompt action to begin to improve in all these areas. They were working with a range of external stakeholders and had an action plan in place. People confirmed staff were generally personable and caring, and knowledgable about their needs.