Background to this inspection
Updated
16 March 2018
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.
The inspection took place on 19 and 20 December 2017. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience undertook telephone interviews on 20 December 2017.
Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications the provider sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. For example, incidents resulting in serious injuries, or allegations of abuse. We sought the views of the local authority commissioning teams. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority or by a health clinical commissioning group. The inspection was also informed by feedback from questionnaires completed by a number of people using services.
We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection we spoke with ten people who used the service and five relatives. We also visited three people in their own homes, with their consent. We did this so we could see how staff provided care to people in their own homes. We spoke with six care staff , the care manager and registered manager. We looked at a range of records related to how the service was managed. These included three people’s care records, two other people’s care reviews, two staff recruitment and training files, and the provider’s quality auditing system.
Updated
16 March 2018
First Care DCA is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, and people living with dementia or a sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection, First Care DCA was providing personal care to 95 people. The organisation provides other support that is not regulated by us which includes personal shopping, domestic services and support in the community.
At the last inspection in January 2016 the service was rated Good overall, however it was rated Requires Improvement for the question, ‘Is the service Safe?’ After this inspection the service maintained its overall rating of Good and the rating for the question ‘Is the service Safe?’ improved to Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
People received personal care that was safe, and risks associated with their health conditions were assessed and mitigated. There were enough staff to support people at the times they needed. People’s medicines were managed safely.
People were supported by staff who had the skills, knowledge and experience to meet their needs. 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 worked well with community health and social care professionals to ensure people received effective personal care, and accessed medical service when needed.
People and their relatives were consistently positive about the staff supporting them with personal care. They felt staff were kind, considerate and caring, and treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in making decisions about their care, and felt their views and preferences were respected.
People received individualised care that was responsive to their needs, and were involved in planning and reviewing their care. People and relatives felt they had opportunities to provide feedback about the service, and were confident complaints would be taken seriously and resolved.
People and relatives felt the service was managed well. There was an open and inclusive culture, and staff had clear guidance on the standards of care expected of them. The provider had systems to monitor and review all aspects of the service, and used this to maintain and improve the quality of care.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.