Background to this inspection
Updated
24 January 2024
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors 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.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. However, the provider was in the process of recruiting a new manager. In the interim, the nominated individual was providing management oversight to the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
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.
Inspection activity started on 07 December 2023 and ended on 18 December 2023. We visited the location’s office on 11 December 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 8 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the nominated individual, care coordinator, compliance officer and care staff. We also received feedback from 3 health professionals who have contact with the service.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 10 people’s care records, 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
24 January 2024
About the service
Fuchsia Homecare Colchester is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 96 people receiving personal care support.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider’s processes for reviewing the quality and safety of people’s care were not always robust. People’s care visits were not taking place at the agreed times or for the agreed duration. We were not assured the provider had always ensured there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs and preferences. People’s feedback had not always been used to develop and improve the care provided.
Risks to people’s safety were assessed; however, information was not always detailed. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns or signs of abuse and people told us they felt safe. The provider had processes in place to manage people’s medicines safely. Staff were safely recruited with appropriate employment checks completed.
People and relatives spoke positively about the care they received from staff and the approachability of the management team. Staff told us they felt supported and were able to contact the management team if they had any concerns. The provider worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals in order to meet people’s support needs.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 20 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the quality and safety of people’s care, the provider’s safeguarding processes and management oversight at the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fuchsia Homecare Colchester on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified a breach in relation to the provider’s governance processes at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.