Rainbow Trust Children's Charity 3

Updated 15 August 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Rainbow Trust Children's Charity 3 provides personal care and support to parents and children where there are children with life threatening or terminal conditions in their family. The support is provided in hospitals, in family homes and in the community. At the time of our inspection there were five children receiving support with personal care, when needed.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to assist us with our inspection.

Inspection activity started on 5 June 2019 and ended on 13 June 2019. We visited the office location on 5 June 2019.

What we did before inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with the registered manager during our visit to the office. We spoke on the telephone with three family support workers, two professionals and the parents of three children supported by the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included the support plans for two children. We looked at records in relation to staff recruitment, training and supervision. We also looked at other documentation relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures

Updated 15 August 2019

About the service:

Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity 3 provides support to families who have children or young people with a life limiting or terminal illness. Support is provided to individual families, parents, children and young people. Not everyone using Rainbow Trust Children's Charity 3 receives a regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care and support provided. At the time of our inspection there were five children receiving support with personal care, when needed.

Since our last inspection two Rainbow Trust Charity teams had merged to form one large team, which covered the areas of Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

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

Without exception people spoke highly of the service, its staff and management. People told us the help they received was invaluable as staff supported them through the difficult times of caring for a very sick child. People told us the service was extremely responsive. Staff took the lead from parents and helped in ways that were appropriate and beneficial for each particular family.

Staff told us they loved their job and were proud to work for the charity. They said they felt listened to, appreciated and supported by an organisation who cared for them and their wellbeing. There was a positive workplace culture, as the organisation valued, encouraged and praised its staff.

The registered manager was committed to employing people who shared the caring values of the organisation and safe recruitment practices were followed. All staff received safeguarding training and demonstrated their understanding of the action they should take if they suspected abuse or neglect.

Families were supported safely, and risks were assessed appropriately. Staff took measures to prevent and control the spread of infection.

Staff were well trained and had the support and supervision they needed to work in emotionally challenging roles.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The service respected and promoted children’s rights and ensured they were given a voice and their opinions were listened to and acted upon.

The service worked in close partnership with other organisations to ensure families were provided with exceptionally responsive, person-centred support.

The registered manager was held in high regard by staff and families and was committed to maintaining the very high standards of the service. They had clear oversight of the team and monitored the quality of support and care provided by the staff.

The registered manager had overseen the merger of local teams to create one large team. This had provided greater opportunities for sibling support, for increasing the number of families referred to the service and for sharing best practice with staff.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 7 December 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner

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