Background to this inspection
Updated
20 April 2018
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.
The comprehensive inspection took place on 19 February 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We needed to be sure the registered manager would be in. The inspection team consisted of one 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.
We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. Prior to the inspection we looked at the PIR and all the information we had collected about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We also contacted 13 community professionals for feedback. We received feedback from four professionals.
During the inspection we spoke with six people who use the service and nine relatives. We spoke with the registered manager and received feedback from six staff. We looked at records relating to the management of the service including seven people's care plans and associated records. We reviewed five recruitment records, staff training records, quality assurance records, the compliments/complaints log and accident/incident records.
Updated
20 April 2018
West Berkshire Home Care Service is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people who live in the community. It mainly offers a short term service to assist older people with their rehabilitation after hospital admission or illness. Since November 2017, the provider also offers a long term care service. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, and people living with dementia, physical disability and sensory impairments.
At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
This inspection took place on 19 February 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 49 people.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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 supported us with the inspection.
People felt safe while supported by the staff. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these to keep people safe.
Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory. Most of the staff were up to date with their mandatory training but many were due refresher training. The registered manager had planned and booked training when necessary to ensure all staff had the appropriate knowledge to support people. We have made a recommendation for the registered manager to refer to the current best practice guidance on ongoing training for social care staff.
Staff had ongoing support via regular supervisions and appraisals. They felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff and maintained good team work.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their individual needs. People were informed about the changes to and timings of their visits. The service had an appropriate recruitment procedure to follow before new staff were employed to work with people. They checked to ensure staff were of good character and suitable for their role.
People were supported by a dedicated and caring team of staff and the registered manager, helping them to build and maintain their independence and live their life to the fullest. People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity were promoted. People and relatives felt their care workers were excellent and supported them in the way they wanted. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people and enabled them to improve and/or maintain their independence with personal care. The whole staff team were motivated and proud of the service they provided to the people.
The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. The service assessed risks to people's personal safety, as well as, staff and visitors, and plans were in place to minimise those risks. There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required.
People received support that was individualised to their specific needs. Their needs and support plans were kept under review and amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights were promoted.
Staff felt they worked really well together and supported each other, which benefitted the people supported. Staff thought the registered manager and senior staff team was very supportive and approachable. They worked with them as a team and they had good communication. The registered manager had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the service and the quality of the service being delivered. The registered manager was able to identify issues and improvements necessary and action was being taken to address these promptly. They praised the staff team for their dedication and hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.