Background to this inspection
Updated
17 November 2022
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
The team consisted of 1 inspector and 1 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
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
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 registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 10 October 2022 and ended on 25 October 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we received about the service and information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.
We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 relatives of the people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 4 members of staff including the registered manager, care co-ordinator and care workers. We received feedback from 4 staff via email. We reviewed a range of records. This included 1 person’s care plan and medication record. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
Updated
17 November 2022
About the service
Home Instead South Woodham Ferrers is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people using the service.
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. At the time of the inspection, there were 4 people receiving support with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were cared for safely by staff who knew them well. However, we found room for improvement in some areas including safeguarding reporting, recruitment and recording of incidents. We have made a recommendation for recruitment.
There were governance processes to monitor the quality of the service. These had not identified all the issues we found; therefore, we were not assured they were effective.
People’s relatives and staff spoke positively about the management of the service. One told us, “The manager is always available” and another said “The team manager will always call me to chat…they always follow through with anything we ask for.”
Staff received an induction and training to enable them to meet people’s needs. Frequent spot checks and competencies were completed, and staff felt supported by the manager.
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.
Staff were caring and kind. They provided care and support respectfully whilst promoting people’s independence. We received positive feedback about the care provided from all the families we spoke with. One said, “I would give them eleven out of ten!”
People’s individual needs were assessed, and their preferences recorded to give staff guidance on how they were to be supported. This included details of any identified risks and how these were mitigated.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
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 26 July 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.