About the service Human Support Group Limited - Gateshead, Angel Court is a domiciliary care agency proving personal care and support to people living in their own flats within one large adapted building. Not everyone living at Angel Court received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help and with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection 32 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy with the support provided by staff. People told us staff were kind, caring, respectful and always available to support them. Since our last inspection people felt the service and the support they received had improved.
The registered manager and regional director had worked hard to improve the service since our last inspection. They had looked at opportunities to improve every aspect of the service and were committed to improving the service further.
There was enough staff available to support people with their allocated visits and staff were available in an emergency situation. Staff told us there was enough staff to provide care to people and they did not feel rushed during calls.
The service provided and supported people to attend activities within Angel Court and within the local community. People told us that staff took their time and chatted whilst delivering personal care.
People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible by staff. 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 received an assessment before moving into Angel Court to ensure the service could meet their needs. Care plans were person centred and individual. People had regular reviews of their care needs and referrals were made to other healthcare professionals if people needed additional support. Care plans included advice and guidance from other agencies.
Medicines were safely managed and regularly reviewed. Staff followed best practice guidance and had their competencies checked regularly. Risks to people were identified and actions put in place for staff to follow to mitigate risks.
The registered manager provided support to staff via team meetings, regular supervisions and appraisals. Staff received an induction from the provider and regular refresher training.
The management team had improved the quality and assurance systems at the service and there were regular audits and checks to ensure people received a good level of safe care. People, relatives, staff and other agencies were positively engaged by the service to find ways to develop and improve.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 13 June 2019) and there were multiple breaches of the regulations. At this inspection the registered manager and regional director had taken robust action to improve.
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the service had made sustained improvements and addressed the issues identified at the last inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor the service through information we receive from the service, provider, the public and partnership agencies. We will re-visit the service in line with our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.