Archived: Solihull Care Domiciliary Service

We visited the offices of Solihull Care on 2 February 2016. We told the provider before the visit we were coming so they could arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service and care workers understood how to protect people from abuse and keep them safe. However, some people were not satisfied with the amount of different care workers that visited them. They told us they would prefer to receive consistent care and support from a fewer number of care workers.

There were processes to minimise risks associated with people’s care. These included risk assessments and safe systems to manage people’s medicines. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of these processes.

The provider checked the suitability of care workers to work with people who used the service during their recruitment. There were enough suitably trained care workers to deliver care and support to people. Care workers received an induction when they started working for the service and completed regular training to support them in meeting people's needs effectively.

People told us care workers were kind and caring and had the right skills and experience to provide the care and support they required. People received care from staff who were respectful and ensured people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

The managers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and care workers gained people's consent before they provided personal care.

Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs. Most care plans and risk assessments contained relevant information for staff, to help them provide the care people needed in a way they preferred.

People knew how to raise a complaint about the service if they needed to and information about making a complaint was available for people. Staff felt supported to do their work and people felt able to contact the office and management team at any time.

There were systems to monitor and review the quality of service people received and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people and staff, returned surveys and spot checks on care workers’ practices.

We received a report from the provider in January 2014. The report told us what the provider had done or was intending to do to become compliant. We contacted the provider in March 2014 for confirmation that the planned improvements for managing medicines had been put into place.

The information we received from the provider showed that appropriate action had been taken to ensure there were effective procedures in place for the management of medicines.

People who used the service said they received the care and support they had agreed to. People told us they had given their consent to the care being provided and had signed documents to confirm this.

We looked in detail at the care and support being provided to three people who used the service. We saw people's needs were assessed and care and support had been arranged according to people's personal needs and requirements.

People we spoke with said their care workers were friendly and polite. All the people we spoke with knew who to contact if they were concerned about their care. People told us they had never had cause to do this.

We looked at how the service managed medication. We found the medication procedures were not sufficiently robust to make sure people received their medication as prescribed.

We were satisfied care workers had been recruited safely and had the necessary skills and experience to work with people using the service.

Records showed the agency had systems in place to monitor the care provided. Everyone we spoke with told us they were happy with the care they received. The service had recently sent questionnaires to people to find out if they were satisfied with the service they received. The returned responses showed people were happy with the service. Comments from people included,

'At all times I have been treated with the utmost courtesy and respect by everyone.'

'I am perfectly happy with the service you provide.'

The management team reviewed each person's care documentation on an annual basis. They spoke to the person and their family to make sure the service provided was of a good standard, and was meeting the needs of the individual.

As part of this review we also spoke to other professionals such as social workers who used the services provided by the agency for their clients. They told us:'They assess the needs of the client well and provide a good service'.

People who used the service were supported by friendly, professional staff.

People who used the service said they felt comfortable with talking to the manager or any member of staff if they felt things could be improved. They all said they were very satisfied with the service provided.