Archived: St Christopher's Home Care Limited

Updated 23 May 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 was planned to check 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 was unannounced and took place on 11 April 2017. It was completed by one inspector.

Before the inspection the provider sent us an 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. We looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We looked at paperwork for the six people who use the service. This included support plans, daily notes and other documentation, such as medication records. In addition we looked at records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff and training records.

During our inspection we observed a care worker supporting three people in their homes. We spoke with three people who use the service, two (of three) staff members and the registered manager. We requested information from other professionals and received two responses which did not include any negative information.

Updated 23 May 2017

This was an unannounced inspection which took place on 11 April 2017.

St Christopher’s Home care Limited is a domiciliary care agency which is registered to provide personal care to people who live in their own homes. They were offering a service to six older people on the day of the visit.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good:

There is a registered manager running the service. 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.

The service was safe, improvements had been made since the last inspection. The service made sure, that as far as possible, staff were recruited safely and were suitable to work with the people. All gaps in work history were explored and recorded. Staff understood how to protect people and followed the relevant procedures to keep people as safe as they could. General risks and risks to individuals were identified and action was taken to reduce them. People were supported to take their medicines safely, at the right times and in the right amounts by trained and competent staff.

The service remained effective. People’s health and well-being needs were met by staff who were well trained and responded to people’s current and changing needs. The service sought advice from and worked with health and other professionals to ensure they met people’s health and well-being needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service continued to be caring and was outstandingly responsive. The staff team were committed and provided exceptionally flexible care with kindness and respect. Care staff were knowledgeable and highly responsive to the needs of individuals. Highly individualised care planning ensured people’s equality and diversity was respected.

The registered manager worked with the small staff team and people and staff told us she was accessible and approachable. The quality of care the service provided was assessed and reviewed regularly and improved, as necessary.