Archived: AC Homecare Limited

Updated 11 July 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. 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an Expert by Experience (ExE). An ExE is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service over 48 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.

Inspection activity started on 19 June 2019 and ended on 24 June 2019. We visited the office location on 24 June 2019.

What we did before the inspection

As part of the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked to see if statutory notifications had been sent by the provider. A statutory notification contains information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also reviewed information that had been sent to us by the public. We used this information to help us plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 11 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the nominated individual who was also a director of the provider organisation and the registered manager. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with a second manager who was also a director of the provider organisation and two care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 11 July 2019

About the service

AC Homecare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 15 people, many of whom were older people.

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

People were protected from the risk of harm including potential abuse. Risks to people from potential accident, injury and health concerns were managed effectively. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. Care staff had effective training and the provider ensured the staff team had the skills required to support people effectively.

People’s needs were assessed thoroughly and the provider ensured people’s care was delivered in line with current guidelines and legislation. People were supported to live their day to day lives as healthily as possible. People were supported to gain access to healthcare professionals in a timely way whenever needed.

People were supported by a staff team who were committed to providing high quality, person-centred care. Care staff were kind and caring towards people and promoted their dignity and independence. People received support based on their individuals needs and preferences. People were fully involved in developing their care.

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.

The provider had developed an open, honest and transparent culture within the service. People were able to raise complaints and concerns if needed and the provider actively sought people’s feedback about the service. Quality assurance and governance systems were in place in order to identify areas of improvement required. The provider was committed to continually developing the service and making ongoing improvements to ensure people received high quality care.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (report published 06 October 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.