Background to this inspection
Updated
30 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.
This inspection took place on 21 and 22 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.
The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Before the inspection we looked at the evidence we already held about this service. This included details of its registration, previous inspection reports and notifications the provider had sent us. We contacted the local authority with responsibility for commissioning care with the service.
During the course of the inspection we spoke with two people that used the service and three relatives. We spoke with four staff. This included the nominated individual, the operational manager and two care assistants. We looked at various records. This included the care records relating to five people that used the service. The recruitment, training and supervision records for five staff employed by the provider and various policies and procedures including the safeguarding and complaints procedures.
Updated
30 November 2015
The inspection took place on the 21 and 22 October 2015 and was announced. The service was last inspected in June 2013 and was found to be fully compliant with all the outcomes we looked at during that inspection.
The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide support with personal care to adults living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection they were providing support with personal care to five people.
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.
Not all staff working at the service received all appropriate training about how to support people in a safe and competent manner. Care plans were task centred and did not provide personalised information about how to meet the individual needs of people.
We found two breaches of regulations. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this report.
The service had appropriate safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures in place. Risk assessments were in place which set out how to support people safely. The service had enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs. Employment checks were carried out on staff before they commenced working at the service.
Staff were able to shadow experienced staff as they supported people and received one to one supervision. People were able to consent to their care and make choices about how it was provided. People were able to make choices about what they ate and drank. The service supported people to attend medical appointments.
People told us they were treated with respect by staff. Staff had a good understanding of how to support people in a way that promoted their privacy and independence. The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people were aware of how to make a complaint.
People that used the service and staff told us they found senior staff to be approachable and helpful. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring systems in place, some of which included seeking the views of people that used the service.