Right at Home (Nottingham South)

Updated 8 June 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service is legally required to have a registered manager in place. There was a registered manager in place.

Notice of inspection:

This was announced inspection. We gave the provider 48 hours notice of our arrival. This is because it is a small service and we needed to ensure there was a manager in the office to allow access to inspection related documents.

What we did:

We asked the provider to send us a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form that routinely asks the provider to give some key information about the service. This includes what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information as part of our inspection planning. We also offered the provider the opportunity to share information they felt was relevant.

Before the inspection took place, we gathered information known about the service. We considered notifications the provider had sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also considered any information received from the public and professionals.

During our inspection, the inspector spent the first day at the service office. They looked at the relevant parts of the care records of four people who used the service. They also looked at three staff recruitment files and other records relating to the management of the service. This included audits, policies and incident records. They also spoke to the registered manager, the nominated individual and four staff. Following the inspection, the provider sent us further information that we required to make our judgements.

After the inspection visit we spoke with six people who used the service and two relatives. We received written feedback from six professionals who have worked with the service. The provider also forwarded us written feedback received from people since the last inspection.

Updated 8 June 2019

About the service:

Right at Home (Nottingham South) is a domiciliary care agency. They provide personal care support to people living in the community. At the time of the inspection, they supported 23 people with personal care. Right at Home is a UK wide care organisation. We inspected the ‘Nottingham south’ location as each location is registered separately.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us that they felt safe. Care plans and risk assessments guided staff to support people’s needs safely. This included people with very complex health conditions. People were supported to manage medicine independently where possible. Those people who required medicine support were supported appropriately. The service followed good infection control procedures.

People told us that staff visits were punctual and staff remained in the property for an appropriate amount of time. Records supported this feedback. Safe recruitment procedures were followed to ensure that suitable staff were employed. Once employed, a thorough induction and training programme ensured staff were well skilled to support people.

The service was effective in the way it supported people. People were supported in line with evidence based guidance to ensure their needs were met effectively. People were supported to have a balanced diet and those at risk of weight loss were given appropriate support to manage this. There was strong collaboration with dietician specialists and there was an emphasis on supporting healthy eating.

Staff worked collaboratively within the staff team, and with outside health and social care professionals. This ensured people received effective multi-agency support.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible: the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff had excellent knowledge of how to promote people’s independent decision making.

Everyone we spoke with told us that staff were caring. Staff made an important difference to people’s lives by providing compassionate care designed around people’s individuality. Staff went above and beyond to ensure people were treated compassionately. People were given privacy and treated with dignity.

Care was personalised to people’s preferences. We found personalisation was the ethos behind the service, and one of its key strengths. Staff knew people’s needs very well, and care records reflected this person-centred ethos. Historic complaints and concerns had been listened too. People said that they have not needed to complain, but have faith in the registered manager to listen to them if they did complain.

The service was exceptionally well led. Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and nominated individual’s approach and leadership. It was apparent that the previously rated ‘good’ service had continued to innovate and drive improvement. The clear governance and strong leadership had created improvements at the service. Feedback from people, relatives and professionals was exceptional.

Rating at last inspection:

The last report was published as ‘Good’ (14 May 2016)

Why we inspected:

We last inspected in May 2016, and the inspection was required to ensure the service was still ‘good’. We routinely inspect services rated as ‘good’. This is to ensure the service remains at a good level and care is safe. We had no concerns when we planned this inspection. It was planned in line with our usual timelines.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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