Background to this inspection
Updated
21 December 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
This inspection was carried out by one 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.
The service had a manager who is currently going through the process of being registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that, once registered, 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 we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 22 October 2021 and ended 10 November 2021. During this time, we spoke with people who used the service, relatives and staff and reviewed documentation that the manager sent to us. We visited the office location on 26 October 2021 to see the provider, the manager and the office team; and to review care records, policies and procedures.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration in May 2021. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities, together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. 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.
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 three people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of support staff, four senior staff, the manager and the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and extracts from others. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures and audit documents were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. The manager provided us with requested documents that reflected the manager was monitoring the service and implementing changes.
Updated
21 December 2021
About the service
Willow Homecare services (Telford) is a domiciliary agency providing support to 38 customers in their own homes. 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
A new manager had started with the service in August 2021 and it was evident that their appointment had led to numerous improvements to the service provided. People who used the service, although very satisfied overall with their support, told us they had noted improvements. Staff also reflected this and now felt well supported and better informed as to their role and how to safely meet people’s needs.
Call times were the main area where people felt improvements could be made. People shared examples of not receiving their care at their preferred time. This was being reviewed by the manager as was the effective deployment of staff to ensure they had time to carry out their roles effectively.
Quality assurance and service auditing processes were now in place to review the quality of the care provided and ensure that improvements continued to ensure people received a good service. However, these processes had not been fully embedded and more time is needed to ensure improvements can be sustained over time .
At the time of the inspection medicines management had improved and a new system had been implemented to make the process safer.
Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and used it appropriately to keep people safe. Any breeches in this were investigated by the manager to ensure people were supported safely.
People were involved in their need’s assessment and their choices and preferences were shared with staff to ensure person centred care. People spoke highly of their staff teams and most people had some consistency, which they valued.
People received a caring service, and everyone commented on feeling safe. People’s dignity and privacy was respected, and people shared numerous examples of how the staff made them feel relaxed and comfortable.
Staff felt well supported and well trained. They felt listened to and had opportunities to express their views.
People had access to relevant healthcare services to promote their physical and mental health and although this was usually facilitated by family members staff did work with professionals to adapt care and support to ensure people received joined up care.
Risk assessments were in place to reduce or mitigate identified risks and these could be updated as needs changed, as could care plans.
Staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard people from the risk of potential harm. People’s complaints had not previously been listened to or acted upon however the new manager was open and approachable and committed to listen and take action to improve people’s experiences of care.
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.
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 07 May 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the provider’s sister service where there were issues relating to staffing, medicines and management. A decision was made for us to inspect this, yet unrated service, to see if similar issues were impacting on people’s quality of life at the Telford branch of the service.
We have found evidence that the provider had made some improvements at the service however, more are required. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
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.