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The Firs Home Care Ltd

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Unit 9, Forest Gate, Pewsham, Chippenham, SN15 3RS (01249) 814246

Provided and run by:
The Firs Home Care Ltd

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Background to this inspection

Updated 26 November 2021

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 two 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service short 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send us within required timescales. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with ten members of staff including the registered manager, and care and support staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

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 contacted four professionals who work alongside the service and received feedback from two.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 26 November 2021

About the service

The Firs Home Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 54 people were using the service.

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.

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

People received a kind and caring service. Staff were compassionate and committed to delivering high standards of care. The registered manager had strong values and led by example.

People and their relatives were complimentary about the service they received and about the quality of the care staff. People told us they were very happy, they felt listened to and were treated respectfully.

Staff were well trained and had access to a wide range of information and opportunity to develop their skills. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s preferences and routines and ensured they delivered a person-centred service. Staff felt supported by the management team and said they could approach them with any issue.

People’s care plans were reviewed regularly and people were involved in the review, making goals and achieving desired outcomes. Staff promoted people’s independence, enabling them to make choices and decisions and supporting them to re-gain life skills and independent abilities.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 February 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection schedule.

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.