T2Z Care Services

T2Z Care Services is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service supported 35 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

People were protected from the risk of abuse, and the provider had systems and processes in place to safeguard people. People and relatives told us they felt safe and were positive about the staff who supported them.

Staff were recruited safely. Staff were trained to administer medicines safely using the providers new electronic care support system. Competency checks were completed to ensure staff were following safe medicine practices.

Risks to people were reduced because people's individual risks and needs had now been assessed and care and support appropriately planned. Staff had access to clear information about people's personal risks and how they should be supported.

Staff followed infection control procedures to reduce the risks of infection.

The service was well-led by a management team who were passionate about improving care and achieving the best possible outcomes for people. People, relatives, staff and professionals spoke positively about the leadership of the service. The registered manager was committed to the ongoing development of the service.

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 10 March 2021) and there were two breaches of regulation. At this inspection 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 9 February 2021. 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 and good governance.

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 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 T2Z on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

T2Z Care Services is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service supported 20 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

T2Z Care Services registered with CQC in November 2019. Since registration, the registered manager had concentrated on building up the service and developing a stable staff and management team.

The management team assisted the registered manager in monitoring the care people received through feedback from people and observations of staff care practices. However further quality assurance checks were needed to ensure the service fully complied with the legal requirements. Staff did not have access to completed records of people’s care and risk management plans to guide them in the best ways to support people and assist in mitigating people’s risks. Systems to manage people’s COVID-19 risks, consent to care and end of life wishes had not been consistently implemented. The actions that had been taken when staff raised alerts about people’s care was not always clearly recorded.

However, the provider had created an action plan to help focus their objectives of providing good quality care. For example, progress was being made in the development and recruitment of staff. The provider had engaged with external support to assist them in monitoring the service and driving improvements.

The registered manager and management team were passionate about delivering good quality care to people. Staff told us they were supportive and were always open to making improvements to the service. People and staff complimented the registered manager and told us they were approachable and very kind.

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. However, the assessment and outcome of people’s mental capacity to consent to their care and support had not been fully implemented using the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). We have made a recommendation about the management of people’s lawful consent to care.

People were supported by a small staff team who were familiar with their needs. People told us that staff promoted their independence and were always respectful and polite. People also confirmed they received personalised care which was responsive to their needs and told us staff were kind and caring.

Staff recorded any concerns of abuse, accidents, incidents and near misses on the provider’s electronic care management system. People’s feedback was used as a source to drive improvement. Staff worked closely with people’s relatives to monitor people’s well-being and had referred people appropriately to relevant health care services when their needs had changed.

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 28 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service had not been inspected since their registration in November 2019, therefore, this inspection was carried out to gain assurances about the quality of care and systems used to monitor and manage the service.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of people’s risks, people’s care records and the quality monitoring of the service at this inspection.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and 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.