Shield Health & Social Care Limited

Updated 2 December 2022

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures, training data and quality assurance records. We looked at a person’s care records and 2 staff member’s files in relation to recruitment and induction. We spoke with a relative of a person who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 members of staff including the registered manager, the service manager and a care worker.

Updated 2 December 2022

About the service

Shield Health and Social Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. This includes older people and people living with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 1 person.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Safe recruitment procedures were not always in place. We have made a recommendation regarding monitoring of recruitment processes.

Risks to people were safely managed, including infection control risks. Processes were in place to ensure safe medicines management.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. The service was able to work in partnership with relevant authorities to keep people safe.

Care was person centred, outcome focused and met individual needs. Staff had the necessary support, skills and training to deliver quality care.

People were involved in their care. Staff cared for people in a kind and respectful manner considering their individual choices and promoting independence.

There were systems in place to monitor the service, obtain feedback and identify areas requiring improvement. There was a positive culture at the service where people were at the centre of care delivery.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 September 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.