Academy Care

Academy Care is a domiciliary care agency providing support for people in their own homes in and around Wakefield. Not everyone using 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. At the time of our inspection there were 64 people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

People were protected from avoidable harm because staff were trained to recognise signs of abuse and knew who to report this to if they had concerns. 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.

Right Care

People's care and support plans reflected their range of needs and they received care that supported their identified needs. People's personal risks were assessed and clear information given to staff on how to minimise those risks. People’s care was personalised and promoted their dignity and independence. Staff received appropriate training to deliver good quality care and support.

Right Culture

People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. There was good management oversight of the service, supported by effective feedback and quality checks. The service was supported by a comprehensive suite of electronic care planning and information management systems. Staff were valued by the provider and management team and they were recognised for their achievements. There was an open, transparent organisational culture that was focussed on supporting staff and continuous service improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 13 October 2021).

Why we inspected

We carried out this focussed inspection looking at the safe and well-led key questions because we needed to follow up on our last inspection where the service was rated overall as requires improvement. During the inspection a decision was made to review the key questions of effective and responsive.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Academy Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Academy Care is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service in the Wakefield area.

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. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 22 people.

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

There were enough staff to support people and improvements had been made, helping to ensure staff were recruited safely. Improvement had also been made to ensure people's medicines were well managed. People’s risk assessments and care plans were personalised, detailed and well written. They included all information needed for staff to know how to safely care for people.

Correct infection control procedures were followed, and the service had taken additional infection control measures to minimise the risk posed by COVID-19. Staff demonstrated a good understanding about how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. People ‘s relatives spoke very positively about the care provided. The words people most often used to describe the service were, “Brilliant” and “Fantastic”. They told us staff arrived on time and there were no missed calls. People were supported by care staff who knew their care needs and preferences.

Staff received appropriate training and support. Staff were described by the people we spoke with as very kind and caring. People’s risk assessments and care plans were personalised and detailed. They included information about people's preferences and abilities.

The provider had continued to make improvements to the systems of governance that we saw had been introduced at our last inspection. There was better management oversight of the service. The service used a range of audits and monitoring tools to assess the quality and safety of the support and care provided. Although, because some improvements were made relatively recently, the improved systems and practice needed embedding into practice.

The service actively engaged with and sought the views of people, their relatives and staff to improve the service. People’s relatives and staff spoke very positively about the way the service was delivered and managed.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 2 April 2021) and there were two breaches of regulation. 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 evidence of improvement in these areas and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the provider’s recruitment process. A decision was made for us to inspect to examine the risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Academy Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Academy Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 21 people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission 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

Staff were not safely recruited as the government relaxation around recruitment checks had been misunderstood. Two staff started work without a DBS check and one staff member did not have an interview record as they were recommended to the service. The recording around medicines management was not sufficiently robust. Risks to people had been identified, although there was limited information about how to reduce those risks. Accidents and incidents records lacked detail and were not followed up.

Systems of governance were not effective. Audits had not been carried out from February up to August 2020. Systems had been introduced since our last inspection, although these had not brought the changes needed to demonstrate sufficient managerial and quality oversight. People, relatives and staff spoke very positively about the way the service was run. Staff had been receiving formal support and spot checks of staff were taking place. However, systems used to record this activity needed improvement. People received a service where staff largely arrived on time and there were no missed calls. People confirmed they were supported by the staff who knew their care needs and preferences. Staff were knowledgeable and were competent in using equipment related to people’s care needs.

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 inadequate (published 26 March 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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 evidence of some improvement in these areas, although we have identified that oversight of key aspects of the service provision was still lacking.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. This is to provide assurance the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 5 February 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, formal staff support, systems to provide oversight and safe recruitment.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Academy Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the recording around the safe management of medicines, recruitment and systems used to demonstrate the necessary oversight of the service.

Follow up

We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service remains in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe and there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.

Academy Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 23 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

The management of medication was not safe. We could not be assured staff administering medicines had up to date training. Staff had not received medication competency assessments and the provider was not completing medication audits. The recruitment of staff was not robust. People and relatives were positive about how safe they felt with the service provided and being able to contact the service out of hours.

Management oversight was not evident over key aspects of the service. Systems to assess, monitor and improve the service were not sufficiently robust. Audits of service provision were not carried out. The provider was not aware of the areas of concern we identified at inspection. Care staff meetings were not held. People and relatives had regular contact with the provider.

Staff training was not up to date. Staff were not provided with supervision. Support plans were sufficiently detailed. There was an over-reliance by the provider on the assessments carried out by commissioners. Staff sought consent before supporting people. 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 provider was working within the principles of the MCA.

People and relatives were extremely positively about the provider and staff who provided their care. Care staff protected people’s privacy and dignity. People and relatives felt able to express their views and be involved in decisions about their care and support. The provider was responsive to people's needs and wishes and knew people well. People were offered choices and encouraged to remain independent.

People did receive care and support that was person-centred. Support plans were routinely reviewed. We have made a recommendation about the Accessible Information Standard. The provider had a complaints procedure in place.

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 7 February 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in regulation in relation to safe care and treatment, fit and proper persons employed, staffing and good governance. For requirement actions we are able to publish at this time, please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Special measures

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.