30 August 2017
During a routine inspection
The service was registered in 2013, it had an unrated inspection in 2014 and has been dormant (not in use) until recently. This will be the first rated inspection for the service.
Herriot Hospice Homecare is a domiciliary care service providing support and care for people in their own homes, who are on an end of life pathway. The service covers the local area of Hambleton and Richmondshire. Six people used the service at the time of our inspection.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
The service worked under contract from the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and in partnership with a local hospice, MacMillan nurses and Marie Curie nurses as well as the district nurses as part of a community end of life team. There was some evidence of deficiencies in the management and oversight of risk across organisational boundaries within the partnership. The manager had recognised this and was actively working to mitigate any impact on people who used the service.
People told us they felt safe and well supported by the care staff. The provider followed robust recruitment checks, to employ suitable care workers, and there continued to be sufficient care staff employed to ensure home visits were carried out in a timely way. People’s medicines were managed safely.
Care staff received appropriate training to give them the knowledge and skills they required to carry out their roles. They received regular supervision to fulfil their roles effectively and the manager planned to have annual appraisals completed when due.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and the care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Where relevant, care staff helped people with their eating and drinking needs.
Care staff knew about people’s individual care needs. People who spoke with us gave us positive feedback about the care staff and described them as, “Excellent, caring and knowledgeable.” We were told the care staff treated people who used the service with compassion, dignity and respect.
People and staff told us that the service was well managed and organised. The manager assessed and monitored the quality of care provided to people. People and care staff were asked for their views and their suggestions were used to continuously improve the service.
Further information is in the detailed findings below