Background to this inspection
Updated
18 May 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: A single inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type: Independent Home Care Team is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to older people with varying needs 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: This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit to ensure the registered manager would be present and ensure people’s consent was gained for us to speak with them for their feedback. The inspection site visit activity started and ended on 16 April 2019.
What we did: Before the inspection we looked at all the information we had about the service. This information included statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. 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. We contacted the local authority quality monitoring team and asked them for their views about the service. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.
During the inspection we looked at six people’s care records, staff recruitment and training records and records relating to the management of the home such as medicines, quality assurance checks and policies and procedures. We spoke with three staff members, the registered manager and deputy manager about how the service ran and what it was like to work there. We visited two people at their homes and spoke with three people and two relatives on the telephone to gain their views about the care and support they received.
Updated
18 May 2019
About the service: Independent Home Care Team is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults and older people living in their own homes. Fifty-Five people were using the service at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ People said they felt safe. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures.
¿ Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs.
¿ The service had procedures in place to reduce the risk of infections.
¿ Assessments of people’s care and support needs were carried out before they started using the service.
¿ Staff had received training and support relevant to people’s needs.
¿ People were supported to maintain a balanced diet.
¿ 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 support this practice.
¿ People were treated in a caring and respectful manner.
¿ People had been consulted about their care and support needs.
¿ There were procedures in place to make sure people had access to end of life care and support if it was required.
¿ People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.
¿ The provider worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service.
¿ The provider took people and staffs views into account through satisfaction surveys. Feedback from the surveys was used to improve the service.
¿ Staff enjoyed working at the service and said they received good support from the registered manager and deputy manager.
At our last inspection of the service 22 March 2018 we found improvements were required in relation to how medicines were managed, risks to some people’s health and safety were not being assessed appropriately, some people’s care records were not person centred and the provider’s audits were not always consistently effective in identifying issues and driving improvements.
At this inspection we found that improvements had been made in these areas. The provider had taken steps to make sure medicines were managed safely, people’s health and safety was being assessed appropriately, people’s care records were person centred and the provider’s audits were effective in identifying issues and driving improvements.
Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (Report was published on 23 May 2018).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.
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.