Floating Support City

Updated 12 December 2019

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

This inspection was completed 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 has a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to gather consent to speak to people using the service. Inspection activity started on 2 October and ended on 7 October 2019. We visited the office location on 3 October 2019.

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 professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, three team managers and four support workers. We also spoke with an NHS health care professional regarding the care provided.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and reviewed the provider’s training records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed; including audits, quality assurance records, complaints and incident records, policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 12 December 2019

About the service

Floating Support City is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes in the Norwich area. Not everyone who used the service received the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care; this is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people do we also consider any wider social care provided. Therefore, whilst the service currently supports over 80 people, only 11 of these were receiving personal care. This inspection therefore only focused on the service provided to these 11 people.

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

Feedback from people using the service was positive and all the people we spoke with recommended the service.

People were protected from abuse, neglect and discrimination. Staff ensured people's safety and acted when necessary to prevent any harm. We found care plans and risks assessments were mostly thorough. People received their medicines according to prescriber's instructions.

Recruitment practice was thorough and ensured there were enough staff of appropriate character to provide consistent support.

Staff received sufficient training and people said staff were skilled in providing their care. Staff monitored people's health and helped them access health and social care services whenever needed.

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 described the staff as kind and reliable. The staff actively encouraged people’s independence and dignity. People were encouraged to actively participate in their care planning and were given opportunities to feedback on the service provided. There was a strong emphasis on personalising the support provided, encouraging social activities and enabling people to access their local community.

Whilst we received positive feedback about end of life care being provided, we have made a recommendation about being better prepared for providing end of life care. Reviews were completed when required due to a change in need or circumstances. However regular reviews to check people’s preferred outcomes were still appropriate and being achieved were not completed. We have made a recommendation regarding completing regular reviews of care plans.

People told us the provider was usually accessible and dealt with any concerns or complaints effectively. Staff reported after a period of re-structure, the service had a clearer focus and was well 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 ‘Good’ (published 12 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.