Background to this inspection
Updated
8 April 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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an assistant inspector
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Some people receive a regular package of care and others use the service for short term support as part of their rehabilitation into independent living or a more permanent arrangement.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also wanted time to obtain contact details of people who used the service and relatives, where appropriate.
Inspection activity started on 3 March 2020 and ended on 25 March 2020. We visited the office location on 4 March 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information we held about the service to plan the inspection. This included checking for any statutory notifications that the provider had sent to us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We asked the local Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider had submitted a provider information return (PIR) 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager, the area manager, five office-based staff and a community-based staff member. We viewed a range of records. This included extracts from five people’s care records. We also looked at quality assurance records and three staff information files.
Prior to and following the inspection site visit, we spoke with ten people who used the service and two people’s relatives. We spoke with three support staff and received written feedback from another.
We spoke with a social care professional for feedback in relation to joint and collaborative working.
Updated
8 April 2020
About the service
Nexxus Care (Staffordshire) is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to 86 people living in their own homes at the time of the inspection. People could be supported with a range of support needs such as people living with dementia, those who needed support with their mental health, older and younger adults, people with a learning disability and a physical and/or sensory impairment.
The service was split into two parts; enablement and domiciliary care. For those receiving enablement support, this was short, intensive package of care, to support people when discharged from hospital. Those in receipt of a domiciliary care needed longer term support to help them remain in their own homes.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were very satisfied with the service provided by the agency and received safe and effective care and support to meet their individual needs.
People were protected from harm by staff who were confident to recognise, and report abuse, and processes were in place to support staff to share concerns. Senior staff worked efficiently and professionally with external professionals to ensure people were safeguarded.
People, who required support to manage their medicines received appropriate and safe support and risks to people’s health and wellbeing were continually identified and reviewed. Risks were proactively managed.
People received largely consistent support from a staff team who were well trained and knowledgeable to meet individual needs. Staff provided a flexible and responsive service to accommodate people's changing needs.
Staff were safely recruited to ensure they were appropriate, and a good match, to support people who used the service. Staff were well supported by managers and colleagues to deliver good care.
People’s needs were assessed and documented, and care plans were detailed so staff could deliver effective support based upon individual needs. People’s individual cultural, social and dietary needs were assessed and supported effectively and in line with their preferences.
Staff worked with health and social care professionals proactively to ensure consistency and ensure people received appropriate and safe support.
Staff were kind, caring and respectful, promoting people’s privacy, dignity and encouraging their independence.
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.
Staff sought people’s consent before supporting them and decisions about people’s care and treatment were made in line with law and guidance.
People knew how to raise a concern and felt listened to by staff and the registered manager. Information could be made available in different formats to make it accessible. Staff had regular opportunities to share their views about the service.
People, relatives and social care professionals felt the service was well managed. Systems and processes were in place to enable the provider, and the registered manager, to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (report published December 2019). At this inspection the service is now rated as good.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.