Background to this inspection
Updated
13 May 2021
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
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 15 April 2021 and ended on 19 April 2021. We visited the office location on 15 April 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to help plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
Updated
13 May 2021
About the service
Unicorn1care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 11 people at the time of the inspection.
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 provider had various audits in place, which had been greatly improved and were more robust than those seen at previous inspections, though these audits did not always identify all concerns in relation to risk assessments.
People’s care plans were regularly reviewed and updated when their needs changed. Safeguarding policies and procedures were being followed. Staffing and recruitment procedures were robust, and staff had adequate travel time built in between calls. Medicines were safely managed, and necessary infection control procedures were being followed.
People were involved in creating their care plans and oral health care plans were in place. Complaints were investigated and resolved in line with their policy. The service provided end of life training for staff and had an end of life policy in place.
Risks were identified and emerging risks were acted upon, however, risk assessments were not always in place for people’s health conditions, which meant risk had not always been adequately assessed. We have made a recommendation about the provider ensuring necessary risk assessments were in place.
Staff spoke positively about the management of the service, and the registered manager told us they had an open-door policy. Regular staff meetings, newsletters and emails ensured staff were kept up to date with any changes. The provider sought feedback from people who used the service, family and staff and took action when needed.
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 at the last comprehensive inspection (published 18 April 2019). A targeted inspection was also carried out where we did not change the rating (published 2 October 2020). 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 21, 22 and 27 March 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve. During a previous targeted inspection some improvements were identified.
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, responsive 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 requires improvement to good. 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 Unicorn1care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.