Archived: Hillingdon And Uxbridge Homecare Limited

Hillingdon and Uxbridge Homecare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing a range of services including personal care for people in their own homes. The people using the service were either privately funding their

own care or using direct payments. At the time of our inspection the provider was supporting 20 people who were receiving personal care.

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.

In this report, ‘care giver’ is the name the provider uses to describe the staff giving direct care to people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider did not always take appropriate action to investigate safeguarding concerns and if potential concerns were identified the provider could not demonstrate they had followed their safeguarding policies and procedures and in making sure the necessary statutory agencies were informed.

The provider did not always follow their complaints policy and procedures. They did not always respond to complainants in a timely manner.

The provider's quality assurance processes had not identified the above shortfalls so these could be addressed and action taken to prevent reoccurrence.

Family members told us their relatives were safe. Care givers were recruited safely. Care givers received an induction and shadowed more experienced colleagues before they supported people on their own. Care givers received regular supervision and appraisals in line with the provider’s policy. People received their medicines in a safe way. Care givers were provided with personal protective equipment to help prevent the spread of infection. Risks to people's health and well-being were identified and managed appropriately by care givers.

People's needs were assessed before they received care from the agency. 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 supported to eat their meals according to their preferences.

Care givers had developed caring relationships with people and respected their dignity and privacy and promoted their independence. People were supported to remain independent. Care givers supported people to participate in activities which were important to them.

Care givers attended team meetings and they had regular supervisions and appraisals in line with the provider's policy so they were appropriately supported in their role.

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 24 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment , receiving and acting on complaints and good governance.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.

Right at Home (Hillingdon and Uxbridge) is a domiciliary care agency providing a range of services including personal care for people in their own homes. The people using the service were either privately funding their own care or used direct payments.

At the time of our inspection, the agency provided approximately 600 hours of support on a weekly basis to 19 people.

The agency had ensured staff attended all scheduled calls, however, at times staff arrived later than agreed. The agency was working towards addressing this matter through recruitment of new staff members and modifying current rotas in order to extend travel time between calls and to ensure all visits took place on time and as agreed.

The management team appropriately dealt with all safeguarding concerns, accidents, incidents and complaints raised by the people using the service and their relatives. By doing so, they ensured the concerns were fully investigated and actions were taken to prevent such situations from happening in the future.

The agency had assessed risks to the health and wellbeing of people who used the service and staff had clear guidelines on how to support people safely.

The provider had an appropriate recruitment procedure in place which they implemented to ensure only suitable staff were appointed to work with people who used the service.

The provider had arrangements to ensure medicines were managed in a safe way and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff received regular training and support so they developed the skills and knowledge they needed to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.

The agency was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and care had been planned in the best interests of people who used the service. Staff asked people’s consent before providing care and support.

People's health and wellbeing was monitored on a daily basis and staff alerted the agency and other professionals if someone's health needs changed.

People told us that the staff really cared for them and they treated them with care and respect at all times. Staff spoke with compassion and warmth about people they cared for. The service delivered sensitive and caring support to people.

The service had a strong and visible person-centred culture to ensure that people felt they were valued and they mattered. Staff continuously empowered people to enable them to live better and comfortable lives.

People received person centred care that reflected their care needs and individual preferences. People told us their care and support had been discussed with them and they took part in the planning and reviewing of their care.

The provider had a complaints policy and people and their relatives were satisfied with how the agency had dealt with any concerns they had raised. The provider had asked people about their feedback on care and support provided by the agency to identify any areas that might need to be improved.

They management team promoted an open door policy where they encouraged staff to have their say about any issues and difficulties they might have in relation to their professional role and responsibilities.

Staff thought the agency was well-led and they praised the support they received from both the provider and the registered manage.

Staff told us they worked well as a team and there was on-going and effective communication between the staff and the managers.

The provider had a variety of effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provision.