Invictus Plus Care

Invictus Plus Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 50 people using the service.

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

Since the last inspection the provider had recruited new staff to support the management team. These staff had helped to operate the systems to ensure the provider had effective oversight of the service. The registered manager said their priority had been to put systems in place to ensure they took action to make improvements.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. They felt confident the management team would address any concerns they had.

The registered manager had developed a series of audits, to assess how key aspects of the service were operating. These included assessments of the medicines management systems, care planning, risk assessments and observations of staff practice. Records demonstrated these audits had identified shortfalls in the way some systems were working and identified how improvements could be made. Actions from the assessments had been followed through to ensure required improvements were implemented by staff. Further action is needed to ensure the improvements are sustained and people receive a consistently good service.

Incident reports demonstrated management reviews had been completed and action taken to reduce the risk of similar incidents occurring again.

The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding incidents and lessons learnt to keep people safe and improve the service. The management team was working with the safeguarding team to address concerns raised.

Staff told us they felt well supported and had access to management assistance when needed. They confirmed they had regular supervision sessions, although one member of staff felt they would like these to take place more frequently.

Social care and health professionals reported the service had been working with them in an open way and had taken on board feedback to make improvements.

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 1 December 2022)

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.

We use targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Invictus Plus Care Ltd is a domiciliary care and supported living service providing the regulated activity personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people using the service and 23 were receiving personal care.

The provider’s office is located in Trowbridge and provides care and support to people living in the local area.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability or who are autistic.

People were placed at risk of avoidable harm because medicines were not always managed safely. Staff were not always testing for Covid-19 in line with the most recent published guidance and this increased the risk of the spread of infection. One person’s choking risk assessment was not sufficient. The provider attended safeguarding meetings when required and staff knew how to identify potential safeguarding concerns and what to do if abuse was witnessed or suspected. People were offered the opportunity to feedback about the service they received.

The provider had not always operated checks and audits to identify errors, shortfalls and omissions. There was no oversight of accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and worked with healthcare professionals as the need arose. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to act openly and honestly when things went wrong. The provider had recently introduced learning disability and autism training to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively.

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 01 October 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of potential safeguarding concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Invictus Plus Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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 monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, audits and checks at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Invictus Plus Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own home, 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.

This service was registered with us on 17 July 2018 and this was the first inspection.

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

People were supported by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff.

Staff received a thorough induction and had their practice observed and competencies regularly checked.

Staff had been recruited safely and told us they were well supported by the management team.

People’s care plans contained their health and social care needs and detailed how staff were to meet those needs. Risks had been identified and assessed.

If people’s needs changed, they and their families were involved in a review. The service resourced appropriate specialist help such as occupational therapists to assess people when their needs changed.

People were being supported by kind and caring staff. People and their families told us they were very happy with the care they received. They had consistent support workers and were able to develop positive relationships with them.

People were supported to regain their independent living skills and maintain a level of independence they were confident with. Where people were able to manage tasks themselves this was encouraged.

People were supported to access their local community and get out and about in the town. The service was located centrally, so people and their families could pop in for a coffee and a chat.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

This was the service’s first inspection since they registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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.