Background to this inspection
Updated
20 November 2015
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we were undertaking this inspection. This was because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. This announced inspection took place on the 7 October 2015.
The team consisted of two inspectors. Before the inspection we looked at the information the Care Quality Commission (CQC) held about the service. This included notifications of significant incidents reported to CQC within the past 12 months.
To conduct this inspection we spoke with two people who used the service, four relatives and four staff including the care staff and the registered manager and also spoke with a social care professional. We looked at six care records, three staff files, records and documents relating to the management of the service. We attended a staff handover meeting and also observed the interaction between staff and people who used the service.
Updated
20 November 2015
The inspection took place on 7 October 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48
hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. This was the first inspection of this service since it was registered on 19 November 2013.
The service is registered to provide support to adults living in their own homes with personal care. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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.
People who used the service and their relatives had positive experiences of the care and service they received.
Safeguarding procedures were in place to ensure people were safe from abuse and staff had knowledge and training about how to identify abuse and keep people safe.
People received their medicines safely as the provider had good procedures to manage and administer medicines.
Risks to people were assessed and managed, including risks associated with moving and
handling, health and personal care, falls and home environment.
There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. Staffing levels were assessed and
monitored and allocated based on individual needs.
All staff were vetted prior to commencing work. Criminal record checks were made on all staff and
essential recruitment documents and records were sought and in place.
Staff were knowledgeable about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and policies and procedures were in place to support this.
Staff received core induction, mandatory training and updates to ensure they had essential knowledge and skills they needed. Staff were supported with regular one to one supervision meetings with their manager and their performance, development and support needs were appraised annually.
People were encouraged to eat well and received support where needed. Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people maintained good health and that they had access to ongoing healthcare support. The provider kept records of regular contact with professionals.
People who used the service and their relatives told us that staff were kind and caring and they were treated with dignity and respect. They said staff always visited them at the allocated times.
People were asked about their needs and care preferences, such as preferred times of care before using the service and then at regular intervals to make sure the agreed times suited their needs. Staff understood about people’s needs in relation to their cultural and religious beliefs and respected these.
Care was planned and delivered according to individual assessed needs. Care plans were developed through consultation with people and their relatives and were regularly reviewed to ensure they still suited their individual needs.
Staff spoke well of the management and said they were available whenever they needed and that they received good training and support.
The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of service. The systems and audits were sufficiently robust, identifying areas running well as well as areas requiring improvement and these were addressed. Overall people were happy with the service.