St. George's Home Care

Updated 18 October 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 checked 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 25, 26 and 27 September 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides care to people living in their own homes and we wanted to make sure staff would be available to speak with us.

The inspection was carried out by one 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, in this case older people and people living with dementia.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. We checked to see what notifications had been received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

We used a variety of methods to inspect the service. We looked at the provider's records. These included six people's care records, six staff files, a sample of audits, staff attendance rosters, and policies and procedures.

We spoke with the registered manager, care assessor and four members of care staff. We telephoned and spoke with nine people receiving care and four relatives. We visited and spoke with four people in their own homes to obtain feedback on the delivery of their care and to view their care records. We also received written feedback from one health and social care professional.

The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The service was previously inspected in November 2013 as part of the inspection of St. George's Nursing Home and Home Care where no concerns were identified. The service amended its registration with the Care Quality Commission in September 2016 to become two separate registrations under the provider St George's Hospital Limited. This was the services first inspection under the registration of St George's Home Care.

Updated 18 October 2017

The inspection took place on the 25, 26 and 27 September 2017 and was announced.

St George's Home Care is a domiciliary care service providing care and support for people living in their own homes. They provided approximately 578 hours of care to 101 people at the time of our inspection. The service provided support to both young and older people some of whom may be living with dementia. They also supported people living with physical disabilities and sensory impairment. St George's Home Care also provide 24 hour live in care for a small number of people.

The service had a 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.

People were safe because staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep them safe from harm.

Staff had a good knowledge of the provider’s whistleblowing policy and procedures which meant they were able to raise concerns to protect people from unsafe care.

Recruitment processes were robust to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff.

There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s needs.

People were supported by staff who received regular training and support to help them provide effective care.

People were supported by staff that promoted their independence, respected their dignity and maintained their privacy.

Care plans reflected people's individual needs and preferences and were regularly reviewed to ensure that they continued to meet people's needs.

Risks to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure people’s individual needs were being met safely.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and their responsibilities to ensure that people who were unable to make their own decisions about their care and support were protected.

There was an effective complaints system in place. People told us they were confident to raise any issues about their care and that they would be listened to and addressed.

People told us the service was well-led and managed by an effective and organised management team.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.