Background to this inspection
Updated
12 January 2017
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, which took place on 9, 15 and 18 November 2016 and was completed by one inspector. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
Before the inspection, we reviewed notifications we had been sent by the provider. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.
During the inspection, we spoke with ten people who used the service or their relatives. We spoke to the manager, a regional manager, a project manager and six staff members. Following the inspection, we spoke with two health care professionals who had regular contact with the service, to obtain their views about the care provided. We looked at care records for five people. We also reviewed records about how the service was managed, including staff training and recruitment records.
Updated
12 January 2017
This inspection, which took place on 9, 15 and 18 November 2016 was completed by one inspector. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would available in the office.
Future Home Care provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the agency was providing a service for eight people with a variety of care needs, including people living with a learning disability or who have autism spectrum disorder. The agency was managed from a centrally located office base in Southampton.
The service did not have a registered manager however shortly before this inspection the manager applied to become the registered manager. 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.
The provider encouraged people to be as independent as possible. People were encouraged to set themselves goals and targets to achieve. Staff’s role in supporting them was clearly identified within people’s care plans meaning people were empowered, not de-skilled.
People and their families were encouraged to help develop and review their care plans. People told us the provider was responsive to feedback, suggestions and complaints and was willing to make changes to improve the service. People were encouraged to express their views and had access to advocacy services if required.
Care plans were detailed and contained information which helped enable staff to support people effectively with their health and wellbeing. The provider identified the level of support people needed with their medicines and when accessing healthcare. Staff supported people to engage as independently as possible in managing their medicines and attending health appointments.
People were supported with their dietary needs and were encouraged to make choices around their nutrition, playing an active role in shopping and cooking. Where people required specialist input, the provider consulted speech and language therapists to help ensure that people were being supported to safely follow their dietary requirements.
Risks to people’s safety were assessed and measures were put in place to minimise the risk of harm to people and staff. When incidents happened, the provider investigated them to identify causes and looked for ways to avoid them reoccurring. When significant incidents occurred within the service, the provider notified CQC.
There were a sufficient number of suitably trained and skilled staff to meet people’s needs. The provider made necessary recruitment checks to help ensure suitably skilled staff worked with people. Staff received an effective induction and training programme which was updated regularly or when guidance or procedure changed. Supervisions were effective in assessing and feeding back to staff about their work performance. The provider gave staff the opportunity to make suggestions and share learning in staff team meetings.
Staff treated people with dignity, respect, and followed legislation, which protected people’s rights and dignity. Staff told us they were confident in identifying safeguarding issues or concerns and were knowledgeable about the provider’s whistleblowing policy.
People, families and staff told us that the manager was approachable and honest and that they could come to them with concerns or issues. The manager had put in place quality assurance systems, which assessed and monitored the quality of care being provided. Improvement plans were regularly reviewed and updated which resulted in continuous improvements being made.