Archived: Carers' Support (Bexley)

Updated 5 September 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Before the inspection we looked at all the information we held about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the service had sent to Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. The provider had sent us a completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.

This inspection took place on 05 and 07 July 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the service is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be available. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

During the inspection we looked at five people’s care records and five staff records. We also looked at records related to the management of the service such as details about the administration of medicines, complaints, accidents and incidents, safeguarding, quality assurance and monitoring. We spoke with six relatives of people about their experience of using the service. We also spoke with the registered manager and four members of staff.

Updated 5 September 2017

This announced inspection took place on 05 and 07 July 2017. Carers’ Support (Bexley) provides respite breaks for family carers across the London boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich. At the time of the inspection 42 people were receiving personal care. We previously carried out an announced inspection of this service on 24 April 2015 and the service was rated good overall.

The service had a system and process to assess and monitor the quality of the care people received. The service carried out spot checks, conducted phone calls to people’s homes and reviewed areas such as the administration of medicines, health and safety, care plans and risk assessments. The service sought the views of people and their relatives to improve the quality of the service.

However, at this inspection we identified some improvement was required in specific areas related to the management of the service. The provider’s medicines policy was incomplete and they had not maintained a manual or electronic call monitoring (ECM) system to show that they had monitored visits to people’s homes to ensure they received visits at the correct times and for the required duration. As a result of the inspection feedback the registered manager confirmed with us that they had arranged to review and update the medicines policy and said that they have now introduced a call monitoring log. We shall assess the impact of this at our next inspection.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager demonstrated good knowledge of people’s needs and the needs of the staff team. Staff described the leadership at the service positively.

People’s relatives told us their family member’s felt safe with the staff. The service had clear procedures to recognise and respond to abuse. All staff completed safeguarding training. Senior staff completed risk assessments for people who used the service which provided guidance for staff to minimise identified risks. The service had a system to manage accidents and incidents to reduce reoccurrence.

The service had enough staff to support people and carried out satisfactory recruitment checks before they started working. The service had an on call system to make sure staff had support outside the office working hours. Staff supported people so they took their medicines safely.

The service provided an induction and training, and supported staff through regular supervision to help them undertake their role.

People’s consent was sought before care was provided. The registered manager was aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). At the time of inspection they told us they were not supporting any people who did not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves. Care records we saw confirmed this.

Staff supported people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs. People’s relatives coordinated health care appointments to meet people’s needs, and staff were available to support people to access health care appointments if needed.

Staff supported people in a way which was caring, respectful, and protected their privacy and dignity. Staff developed people’s care plans that were tailored to meet their individual needs. Care plans were reviewed regularly and were up to date.

The service had a clear policy and procedure for managing complaints. People knew how to complain and would do so if necessary.