Stokes England Office

Updated 15 July 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We 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 reviewed information we had received about the service, including statutory notifications. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

We spoke with relatives about their experience of the service. We were not able to talk with people this time. We spoke with the registered manager, human resources manager, three case managers, support worker and two health professionals.

We reviewed a range of records including three care plans. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Inspection activity started on 21 June 2022 and ended with a feedback call on 4 July 2022.

Updated 15 July 2022

About the service

Stokes England Office provide case management support for people affected by a brain injury and their families. The provider works with people and their families, legal representatives and healthcare professionals. The service undertakes assessments and provides and reviews care and therapeutic services for children and adults who, as a result of medical negligence or personal injury, have suffered brain injury, spinal injury, or other serious medical conditions. They develop, deliver and monitor a package of care for people to meet their individual needs, support their rehabilitation, and provide for their care and support. At the time of the inspection, support was being provided for 11 people.

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

There were safe systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people were safely assessed and managed, and staff understood people's risks and how to support each person safely. People were supported by staff that had been safely recruited and knew people well. Medicines were managed safely, and staff followed correct infection, prevention and control procedures. There were systems in place for ensuring that each event, incident, accident and feedback was used as a learning opportunity to improve the service.

The management undertook assessments before agreeing to support people to ensure that their individual needs and preferences could be met by the staff team. This was in conjunction with legal representatives such as solicitors. People's care plans were developed with the person, their families and other health professionals involved in the person's support. Staff received an induction before supporting people and had their competency checked by the management team. Staff received appropriate training relevant to people they supported. Staff worked in partnership with other health professionals involved in people's care and support. 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.

People were supported by staff that were thoughtful and caring. Staff understood and respected each person's individual characteristics, and respected people's privacy and dignity. People were involved in choosing the staff that supported them.

People's care was planned with staff and the person and their family. Staff understood people's unique ways of communicating and knew how to support the person to speak for themselves as much as possible. The registered manager had a complaints policy in place and used complaints and feedback as an opportunity to improve the service for people.

Managers and leaders created a transparent and honest culture for people and staff that was focused on ensuring everyone had the support they needed. The management were committed and enthusiastic about providing support and training for staff to enable them to provide people with the best support possible. The management team consistently reviewed the service through their governance systems and identified ways to improve things for people. People, their relatives and staff were given regular opportunities to be involved in how the service was run by being provided with regular opportunities to feedback on aspects of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 16 December 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.

Follow up

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

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.