You & I Care Inspected and Rated Good By The Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 10 October 2023.

We are thrilled to announce that You & I Care Ltd was recently inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 10 October 2023 and has been rated GOOD overall for being Safe, effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led.  The inspection was carried out under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of the CQC’s regulatory functions. During the assessment, the CQC thoroughly examined You & I Care’s adherence to the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. They looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating of Overall Good for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Overall inspection summary:

People’s experience of using You & I Care’s service and what the CQC found was as follows.

Right Support: Staff were robustly recruited, had received training and applied their skills and understanding to provide safe care. Additional specialist training was provided to staff to enhance their knowledge and raise awareness of people’s individual medical conditions.

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. Staff understood the importance of providing respectful care which was person-centred and tailored to the individual’s needs.

Right Care: People had risk assessments and care plans in place developed from a robust assessment of needs. The registered manager continuously monitored the quality of the care provision to help ensure people’s needs were safely met. People and relatives praised the staff team and said they had never experienced any missed care calls.

Right Culture: The quality assurance system was a robust and continuous process. The management team worked closely with people and their relatives to help ensure their continuous satisfaction with the services delivered. The CQC received positive feedback from people, relatives and staff about the registered manager and the management team. People, relatives and staff all said they were confident they would be listened to, and they felt respected. Management and staff were passionate and enthusiastic in their roles.

The registered manager and their team quickly recognised when people’s needs changed and made timely referrals to external professionals to ensure appropriate care and support were in place.

Findings based on CQC’s new inspection framework:

The inspection was carried out as part of the CQC’s new inspection framework, which focuses on the five key questions of:

• Is the service safe?
• Is the service effective?
• Is the service caring?
• Is the service responsive?
• Is the service well-led?

Below are the CQC findings based on the above-listed five key questions.

Safe: The CQC found that the service had robust systems in place to protect people from harm. This included:

• The provider had robust and effective systems to help protect people from the risk of harm or abuse and understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse.
• Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were assessed and care packages were developed to remove or reduce the risks.
• Staff were trained in safeguarding and knew how to report any concerns.
• The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people and had a clear system in place to monitor and manage risks.
• The service had a clear policy on medication management and staff were trained to administer medicines safely.

Effective: The CQC found that the service was effective in meeting people’s care needs. This was evidenced by:

• People’s needs were assessed before they started to use the service.
• Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care that people needed.
• Staff received training in the Mental Capacity Act and had a good understanding of how to put this into practice.
• The registered manager monitored the quality of care and made improvements where necessary.
• The management and staff team worked well with external professionals for the benefit of people who used the service.

Caring: The CQC found that the staff at You & I Care were compassionate and respectful towards people. This was evidenced by:

• The management and staff team were passionate about providing people with the care they needed, how they needed it, and in the best possible way for the individual.
• People’s care plans showed they were consulted about changes to their care, and these were documented.
• Staff had a good understanding of the people they supported. The staff took time to get to know people’s individual likes and dislikes, their pasts and interests and incorporated these into their care.
• People and their relatives praised the staff team for the care and support they provided.
• People and their relatives said staff promoted people’s privacy, dignity, and independence.

Responsive: The CQC found that You & I Care was responsive to people’s needs. This was evidenced by:

• People received care to meet their individual needs and preferences, the care was adapted to meet their changing needs.

• People were supported to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolation; support follow interests and to take part in activities that are socially and culturally relevant to them.
• The provider had a complaints and compliments policy. People and their relatives revealed that they had a copy of the policy in their homes to access if needed. People and their relatives said they had not had the need to raise any complaints, but all said they would be confident to do so if the need arose.
• The staff team supported people at the end of their life according to their wishes and preferences. People were supported to stay in their own homes if they chose to do so and extra support was provided as needed from specialist services such as Hospice nurses. Staff knew how to support people at the end of their life.

Well-led: The CQC found that You & I Care Ltd was well-led. This was evidenced by:

• Managers and staff were clear about their roles and understood quality performance, risks, and regulatory requirements. The provider understands and acts on the duty of candour, which is their legal responsibility to be open and honest with people when something goes wrong.
• The registered manager embraced innovation to improve outcomes for people, relatives, and staff. Digital technology was used for all records, and communications and in the management and oversight of this service.
• The registered manager operated a clear system to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service provided by You & I Care.
• The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities towards the people they supported and demonstrated a strong passion for delivering person-centred care.
• People and relatives revealed that they found the management team to be warm and supportive.

Overall, the CQC found that You & I Care is a well-run service that provides safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care to people.

We Are You & I Care, The Caring Source of Care In Your Own Home.
Our Promise Is To Always Care.