Archived: Community Outreach Consultancy Limited Office

Updated 29 November 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 20 October 2016 and was announced. We gave the service short notice of our visit to the office, because we wanted to make sure the people we needed to speak with were available. The inspection was conducted by one adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection, we reviewed all of the information we held about the service, including any statutory notifications that the provider had sent us and any safeguarding information we had received. Notifications are made to us by providers in line with their obligations under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. These are records of incidents that have occurred within the service or other matters that the provider is legally obliged to inform us of.

All of this information informed our planning of the inspection. We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to the inspection which they submitted in a timely manner. The PIR is a form which asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The service was only providing the regulated activity of personal care to one person.

As part of the inspection we spoke with a relative and a person receiving a service. We also spoke with two team leaders who were responsible for the day to day support for the person to gather their views about the service. We spoke with the registered provider, who was also the registered manager regarding the management of the service. We also sent emails to three solicitors who act as deputies under the court of protection. You can see what they have told us in the main body of the report.

We reviewed records held by the provider. This included looking at one person's care records, three staff files, policies and procedures and records relating to the quality monitoring of the service.

Updated 29 November 2016

Community Outreach Consultancy Limited is a private case management service, providing case management, personal care and support services. 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, or other serious medical conditions.

Community Outreach Consultancy Limited case-manages people's care following legal cases for compensation for acquired brain injury. People were often put in touch with the agency through their solicitor. The service could assist people with the legal aspects of litigation and represent them in court as well as helping them manage their care, support and housing needs.

The service coordinates services from an office base in Bisley, Gloucestershire. However, services were provided across a wide geographical area. At the time of this inspection the service provided the regulated activity to one person although the service was supporting 15 other people.

The service had a registered manager, who had been registered with us since 2009. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was also the registered provider. They were supported by an office administrator.

People were very much involved in designing their own care package with the support of the registered manager. The role of the service was to provide support to the person and their family in navigating the health and social care system. Each package of care was bespoke to the person based on their requirements. Staff worked in partnership with other health professionals and family members to ensure the person’s needs were met. Staff were caring and supported people to lead the life they wanted.

The service could assist with the recruitment, training, supervision and appraisals of staff. Not everyone wanted this service. But where this service was being used, it was evident there were robust systems in place. This ensured suitable staff were employed to support people but also that they received an induction and on going training. This included supporting staff with supervisions and team meetings. A relative told us, “It takes the headache out of caring as all the paperwork and administration is done for you”. This included offering a payroll service on behalf of the person or their deputies under the court of protection.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the care and provided regular updates to the person’s deputy under the court of protection. The service was well led with clear lines of accountability. There was joint working with the person, their family, other health professionals, staff and the deputies of the court of protection.