Updated 11 June 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team: The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.
Service and service type: This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger people with complex needs.
Not everyone using personal care and support services receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and we needed to ensure someone would be on site to support us with the inspection.
Inspection site visit activity lasted one day on 19 March 2019. We visited the office location on this day to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.
What we did: Prior to the inspection we developed a plan using the available information we held and information held in the public domain. This included notifications the provider sent to us of specific events and information from the Local Authority. We also used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make
During the inspection we spoke to five staff including the registered manager and support workers. We were unable to speak with anyone who used the service or their representatives but reviewed three of the seven care plans to ascertain the service they received. We also looked at management information including personnel records and monitoring information.
During the inspection we identified shortfalls in the collation of information from accidents and incidents and complaints. We found analysis did not allow for the identification of themes and trends upon which action could be taken. The provider began to develop a tool immediately after the inspection and sent us a copy for review as requested.