Background to this inspection
Updated
11 February 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal and nursing care to adults and children living in their own homes. 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.
The service had a manager registered with the CQC. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure someone would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 19 December and ended on 17 January 2020. We visited the office location on 19 December 2019.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we looked at the information we held about the service. This information included statutory notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
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. We also contacted local authority commissioners and asked them for their views about the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During our visit to the registered office we spoke with the registered manager, regional operational lead and office consultant. We looked at three people’s care records and a selection of medication and medication administration (MARs). We looked at other records including quality monitoring records, recruitment and training records for three staff and other records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke over the telephone with two family members and two staff.
Updated
11 February 2020
About the service
Merseyside Office - Apollo Home Healthcare Limited Merseyside is a domiciliary care agency specialising in providing personal and nursing care for people of all ages with complex healthcare needs living in their own homes. There were seven people using the service at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were processes in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm. Risks people faced were identified and control measures were in place to keep people safe. The recruitment of staff was safe, and people were supported by the right amount of suitably skilled and experienced staff. Medicines were used safely. There were systems in place for reporting accidents and incidents and learning from them.
An assessment of people’s needs, and choices was completed and a care plan on how to meet their needs was developed. The plans provided clear instructions for staff on how to provide effective care and support to people and they were kept under review and up to date. People’s needs were met by staff who received good support and the training they needed for their role. People’s dietary and healthcare needs were understood and met.
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.
People were treated with kindness and compassion and their privacy, dignity and independence was promoted and respected. Staff had formed trusting and positive relationships with people and their family members. People and family members were involved in decisions about the care and support provided and they felt able to openly express their views and opinions.
Care was planned and delivered in a personalised way. Family members commented positively on how personalised their relatives' care was. Staff had a good understanding of how people communicated, and what they were communicating. The provider’s complaints procedure was shared with people and family members. Family members were confident about complaining if they needed to.
The leadership of the service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred. We received positive feedback about the management of the service. The registered manager and other senior staff were described as inclusive, approachable and supportive. There was good team work and good partnership working with external professionals. Checks were effectively used to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with us on 13 December 2018.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection as the service had yet to be rated since it registered with the CQC.
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.