Background to this inspection
Updated
29 October 2019
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 three inspectors. One inspector visited the office location and two inspectors spoke with people and relatives on the telephone.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that 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 registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 4 September 2019 and ended on 30 September 2019. We visited the office location on 4 and 30 September 2019. We spoke with people and relatives on the telephone on 25, 26 and 27 September 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, operations manager, clinical operations director, training officer and four support staff.
We reviewed a range of records which included four people's care records and four staff files. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.
Updated
29 October 2019
About the service
Voyage Specialist Healthcare is a domiciliary care service which provides personal and nursing care to children and adults with complex physical health needs living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 45 people were using the service, all of whom received personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe. Staff understood their responsibilities about keeping people safe. Risks were identified and managed well. Incidents and accidents were monitored to inform practice and make improvements to the service. Staff had completed training in how to prevent the spread of infection whilst working in people's homes. Staff had completed training in medicines and their competence to administer medicines was checked regularly. Medicine administration records had been completed accurately.
Staff had completed training in key areas and were supported to carry out their roles. Most people and relatives had confidence in staff and were content with the care they received. Staff supported people to access health services if needed. Dietary needs were assessed and, where required, people received support with their meals. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring. Staff supported people to remain independent. Staff promoted people’s dignity and respected their privacy.
People's care plans were up to date about their individual needs and preferences. Most people received support that met their needs. Where there were difficulties covering people’s calls, largely due to recruitment and training, plans were in place to address this.
The registered manager had a clear vision about the quality of care they wanted to provide. Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities. There were a number of effective quality assurance systems in place. There was a focus on continuous improvement.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 17 March 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
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.