Archived: Home Care

Updated 21 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 completed by one inspector, one assistant inspector and two Expert by Experiences. 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

Home Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. They also provide personal care to six people on a more supported, 24/7 basis. This is to people requiring high levels of support to live in the community.

Currently, there was not a manager registered with us. The service had a manager employed who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. 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

This inspection was announced on Friday 7 February 2020. The inspection activity started on 10 February 2020 and ended on 19 February 2020. We visited the office location on 10 and 11 February 2020 and made phone calls to people who used the service and/or their families on the 18 and 19 February 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held on the service, such as notifications, and used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed seven care plans during the office visit. We spoke with the manager and two staff based in the office responsible for supporting staff delivering the care, who planned and monitored training and ensure visits to people were met. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

We spoke with 17 people and 16 relatives on the phone to seek their views of their care.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the manager to validate evidence found. We also received written feedback from 12 staff, three professionals with knowledge of the service and one relative.

Updated 21 April 2020

About the service

Home Care provides care and support to six people on a 24 hour/7 day a week basis and to people in the community in their own homes. Two hundred and eighty-seven people received care in their own home at the time of the inspection.

People received care that was personalised to their needs and preferences. Everyone spoke of the staff, the quality of their care and how the service was organised in positive terms. People and relatives felt safe being cared for by the staff and that the staff were kind, caring and compassionate.

There were clear systems of leadership and governance in place. The service was led by a manager who was empowering of her staff and passionate about ensuring people received good care and achieved great outcomes. The manager was reflective in their approach and open to feedback in their drive to continually improve the quality of the service.

People’s care and any risks were planned with them and where appropriate with their relative and/or key professionals. Regular reviews took place and communication with staff, relatives and professionals was good to ensure the details were up to date.

Improvements were needed to the systems in place to support people with their medicines. Some improvements and plans have already been put in place and acted upon to address this. For those living with 24/7 care they received their medicines as prescribed and there was very good record keeping.

People had their health needs met. Where staff supported people to eat and drink, this was achieved to ensure people were monitored as required and support was brought in from their family, GP, Community nurses and other professionals as needed.

People’s capacity to make decisions was assessed in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). They 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.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 19 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.