Unicare Devon provides care and support to mostly older people, who live in their own homes. The services provided include personal care and domestic work for people living in Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Dawlish and the surrounding areas.The service had a registered manager. 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.
We visited the office on 14 July 2016. We carried out phone calls to people and their relatives on 18 July 2016. We carried out a home visit on 19 July 2016. At the time of this announced inspection 78 people were receiving personal care from the service. The service had moved offices and this was the first inspection at this location.
People were really pleased with the way staff treated them. Each person we spoke with told us their care workers were kind, caring and compassionate. Comments included “I’m so glad I decided to have care; I’m delighted with them. I have a whole new group of friends”; “The staff are marvellous” and “They’re very helpful and kind, I only have to ask”. Several relatives told us that staff always offered to help them as well. Staff spoke about the people they cared for with compassion and concern. People told us staff were respectful and polite. We saw staff and people interact in a friendly way. People were pleased to see the staff. The staff knew people well and chatted with them with warmth. Staff checked if they could do anything else for people before leaving.
People told us they felt safe and comfortable when staff were in their home and when they received care. People told us "I feel very safe” and “I feel comfortable with them". Staff knew how to recognise signs of potential abuse and understood how to report any concerns in line with the service's safeguarding policy. Safe staff recruitment procedures were in place. This helped reduce the risk of the provider employing a person who may be a risk to vulnerable people.
People told us staff knew how to meet their needs. Comments included "They know my routine” and “They are competent”. Staff told us they were happy with the training they received. Staff told us they felt well supported and had regular opportunities to discuss their work.
Care plans were developed with each person. They described the support the person
needed to manage their day to day health needs. Staff knew people well and were able to tell us how they supported people. We saw staff responded to people's requests, met their needs appropriately, and knew how they liked things to be done.
People told us staff were usually on time and had time to meet their needs in the way they wanted. People were provided with a copy of the staff rota so they knew who was due to visit them. The registered manager told us they tried to ring people with any changes, and the majority of people confirmed this happened. Staff told us they had enough time to travel between visits.
Risk assessments had been undertaken for each person. These included information about action to be taken to minimise the chance of harm occurring to people. We saw risk assessments had been carried out in relation to nutrition, skin care, and mobility. Risk assessments relating to each person's home environment had been completed. Where concerns were identified, action had been taken. A healthcare professional fed back that the care staff had managed one person’s complex needs very well and this had reduced risks for them. The service reviewed incidents and accidents to minimise the risk of them happening again.
People were supported safely with their medicines and told us they were happy with the support they received. Staff completed medication administration record (MAR) sheets after giving people their medicines. The MAR sheets were audited to ensure people had received their medicines as prescribed to promote good health.
The service sought regular feedback. People told us they were asked for feedback over the phone, and during visits and care plan reviews. Some people who lived in the Dawlish area had commented that the office in Newton Abbot was too far away. The service had opened a small office in Dawlish so people could call in and speak with a staff member. One person had recently enjoyed calling in for a cup of tea as they were passing. The provider had received an award for the positive feedback received from people and their relatives. People had submitted their feedback to a website and this resulted in a ‘Top 10 Award’. We saw all reviewers had rated the overall standard as ‘excellent’.
People and their relatives felt able to raise concerns or make a complaint. They were confident their concerns would be taken seriously. People told us they didn't have any complaints. Comments included “I can’t fault them in any way. They do everything” and “No complaints at all”. Where complaints had been received they had been managed in line with the company policy.
People told us the management were approachable and they were happy with the service. Comments included “They’re very approachable and work hard to keep you in the picture”; “I’m very happy with Unicare, I’d recommend them to anyone” and “It’s going extremely well”. Staff told us there was open culture. Staff said “Nothing could be better, the door is always open”; and “It’s open and transparent, I can’t speak highly enough of them”. Staff told us they were able to make suggestions for improvements. For example, staff had identified an issue at weekends. They had not been able to contact senior staff on call if they were carrying out visits. The registered manager cleared the senior’s visits to make sure they were available to take calls.
The registered manager was keen to develop and improve the service. They kept up-to-date with best practice and met up with other care providers to share good practice. Records were clear, well organised and up-to-date. An audit system was in place to monitor the quality of the service. Unannounced checks to observe staff’s competency were carried out on a regular basis.