Updated 21 March 2020
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
This 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a new manager who had applied to become the registered manager with the Care Quality Commission. This means that once registered 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 provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 6 March 2020 and ended on 6 March 2020. We visited the office location on 6 March 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed all the information we held about the service, such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We also sought information from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and emailed seven members of staff including the manager, supervisors, the owner and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and several 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.