New Directions Care and Support
Orbit Business Centre, Rhydycar Business Park,
Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 1DL
Tel: 01685 848282
Email: kerry.mountjoy@new-directions.co.uk
CCBC Contract Monitoring Report
Contract Monitoring Report
- Name/Address of provider: New Directions Care & Support
- Date/Time of visit: 12 December 2023
- Visiting Officer(s): Ceri Williams - Contract Monitoring Officer CCBC
- Present: Kerry Mountjoy – Service Lead, Caerphilly
New Directions are a registered domiciliary care provider, providing care and support to individuals within their own homes. They currently provide support to both adults and children within CCBC. At the time of the visit the company were providing approximately 409 hours of care to 29 individuals.
Dependent on the findings within the report, ND Care & Support will be given corrective and developmental actions to complete. Corrective actions are those which must be completed (as governed by legislation etc), and developmental actions are good practice recommendations. Orbit Business Centre, Rhydycar Business Park, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 1DL
Previous Recommendations
Staff meet for one to one supervision with their line manager or equivalent officer, or a more senior member of staff, no less than quarterly. (Regulation 36, Regulation & Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.) Met: Records evidenced that staff supervision is taking lace within time scales set out in legislation.
Any regulation 60 notifications submitted to the regulator to also be copied to CCBC Commissioning. (CCBC Contract). Met: There have been no Regulation 60 notifications submitted to the regulator since the last monitoring visit.
Findings from Visit
Care & Service Planning Process
ND Care have a comprehensive care planning document. The document includes personal details, medical history, outcomes to be achieved, breakdown of care calls and tasks to be completed on each call, associated risk assessments. The care planning documentation also included a ‘What is important to me document’ which records the conversation with the individual regarding what outcomes they wish to achieve and also contains life history information.
Two client’s files were viewed while at the monitoring visit. Both client’s files contained a CCBC Care and Support Plan. All identified care and support needs from the CCBC care and support plan were included on the ND Care personal plans.
The personal plans viewed both included detailed and clear instructions on what support was needed on each call. Both plans were person centred, written from the view of the person receiving care and support and included likes, dislikes, routines and, abilities of what could be achieved independently.
There were suitable risk assessments in place of both files viewed which accurately described risks identified and actions to take should the risk occur.
Both personal plans had been signed by the person receiving care and support or by a representative, evidencing their involvement in the production of the personal plan.
Daily records are captured electronically using the PASS application. Tasks are listed and recorded as green when the carer confirms they have completed the task. On all records viewed tasks were completed and also contained a written summary by the carer regarding the outcome of the call and commenting on the individual’s well-being.
The computerised system logs the date, times in and out of the calls, records the length of the call and the details of the carer who completed the call. Clients records are audited daily as the PASS system alerts office staff if tasks have not been completed.
Reviews of the personal plans are carried out within the necessary timescales set out in regulations. Reviews are meaningful and undertaken with the individual receiving care and support. The personal plan is reviewed along with the quality of care that the individual receives. Any actions following the review are also recorded.
Service Provision
Call monitoring records were viewed for two clients and compared to scheduled times. The records showed that the majority of calls were taking place within 30 mins of the scheduled call times.
The carer continuity, for both packages reviewed, was good with continuity only slightly over the target set in the contract.
Two staff rota’s were reviewed as part of monitoring. It was evident from the rota’s that sufficient travel time was built in to ensure care workers have ample time between one location and the next.
ND Care use a computerised care planning system called PASS. The system holds all individuals’ details, care plans, care calls required and also acts as a call monitoring system.
The PASS system displays an alert if a call has not been logged into by a carer at the planned time. This alerts office staff who will then make enquiries with the carer.
ND Care have an on call system out of office hours. Staff on call will check the pass system every half hour for any alerts. If an alert is not cleared after 45 minutes then the system will also generate an alert to the on-call mobile phone.
Recruitment Training & Supervision
Two staff files were viewed; they both included required information such as detailed application form, record of interview and contracts of employment.
Both files contained two verified references. There were also copies of documents proving identity on each file and recent photographs present.
Signed contracts of employment were also present for both staff.
Disclosure Barring Service checks are applied for and proof that they are received and clear is kept on file. This information was present for both staff files checked. Should a DBS check disclose an offence there was evidence on file that sufficient action is taken regarding safeguarding, and risk assessment completed, as a result of the content of the certificate.
Training certificates were present on both staff files and files also included training competency checklists.
There was also evidence on file of a meaningful and in-depth shadowing process for new staff whilst working with experienced staff in the community. Checklists were present for various tasks which had been observed and signed off by senior staff.
Spot checks were also recorded both files. These are carried out every three months and include appearance, infection control, communication and also competency checks on medication administration and moving and handling. Feedback is also obtained from individuals receiving the service. Any actions following the spot checks are also recorded.
The training matrix showed that all staff where up to date with training in all mandatory courses. There was also evidence of staff attending non mandatory training.
The supervision matrix evidenced that Staff meet for one to one supervision with their line manager quarterly and all staff were up to date with supervision. Supervision sessions are recorded and are meaningful giving staff opportunity to raise any issues or concerns and reflect on personal development.
Staff team meetings are also held quarterly and evidence was available of the minutes recording topics discussed with the staff team.
Quality Assurance
ND Care and Support have robust quality assurance arrangements in place. This includes six monthly quality assurance reports, Responsible Individual quarterly reports and also quarterly reports completed by the branch Manager. Copies of these reports were provided to the monitoring officer and included feedback from individuals receiving the service, feedback from staff and also actions to be taken from the findings of the reports.
Individuals or their representatives who receive a service were contacted by the monitoring officer for feedback. Feedback received was positive with no concerns raised. People advised that they have consistent carers and call times and whenever they have had to contact the office staff respond to queries in a helpful and timely manner.
Feedback has also been positive from colleagues within care management teams regarding support provided and communication regarding vulnerable individuals, with the support provided being described as ‘going above and beyond’.
Corrective / Developmental Actions
There were no corrective or developmental actions identified from the monitoring visit.
Conclusion
This was a positive visit monitoring visit to ND Care & Support, with no actions identified. Management and senior staff have good insight into service delivery and are supportive to staff and clients in the community. Communication with care management teams is excellent and several compliments have been received by the commissioning team regarding the service provided. The team are committed to providing good outcomes for the individual’s they support and this is evident in their pro-active approach to sometimes challenging situations. The monitoring officer would like to thank ND Care staff for their time and hospitality during the monitoring visit.
- Author: Ceri Williams
- Designation: Contract Monitoring Officer
- Date: 21 December 2023