Background to this inspection
Updated
16 June 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 one inspector, an assistant inspector, 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
Archangel Home Care – Staffordshire Branch is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults, people with; learning disabilities, mental health needs, physical disabilities, sensory impairment and younger adults.
The service had a manager who was currently going through the registration process with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or the manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
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 reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one person who used the service and twelve relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the area manager, the manager, care coordinator, senior care worker and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three 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.
Updated
16 June 2021
About the service
Archangel Home Care – Staffordshire Branch is a domiciliary care agency. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is related to help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, 42 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe using the service because they were supported by staff who knew their needs well and knew how to manage their risks.
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm because suitable systems were in place to keep them safe. Staff understood their responsibilities. People were protected from the spread of infection and the provider had ensured practices were updated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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's needs and choices were assessed and planned for, and their preferences had been considered.
Staff were safely recruited and inducted. They had access to training and supervision to ensure they had the skills to support people effectively.
There were systems in place that worked to ensure areas of improvements were identified and actions were taken to make changes when needed so that people had good quality care.
The manager was approachable and supportive and had a very clear direction to continue to make and sustain improvements. Staff enjoyed working at the service and were listened to.
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 requires improvement (published 17 December 2020) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to medicines, missed calls, breaches of personal protective equipment (PPE) and poor care records. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Archangel Home Care – Staffordshire Branch on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.