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Archived: Golden Homecare Services

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

5b St Mary's Walk, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 1AF (01323) 842487

Provided and run by:
Golden Homecare Services

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Background to this inspection

Updated 23 December 2016

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.

We reviewed information received about the service, for example the statutory notifications the service had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

We looked at information received from people, relatives and visitors, and we spoke to the local authority commissioning team who were positive about the quality of the service being provided to people. Commissioners are people who contract care and support services paid for by the local authority.

Before the inspection the provider completed a 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 received this prior to our inspection and it reflected the service we saw and future plans for the service.

The inspection took place on 8 December 2016 and was announced. We told the provider we would be coming. This ensured they would be available to speak with us and gave them time to arrange for us to speak with staff.

The inspection was conducted by 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 contacted people who used the service by telephone and spoke with 6 people and 3 relatives. During our visit we spoke with the registered manager, two office managers and two care workers.

We reviewed three people's care records to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at two staff records to check whether staff had been recruited safely and were trained to deliver the care and support people required. We looked at other records related to people's care and how the service operated, including the service's quality assurance audits and records of complaints.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 23 December 2016

Golden Homecare Services provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our visit the agency supported 38 people with personal care and employed 11 care workers.

We visited the offices of Golden Homecare Services on 8 December 2016. We told the provider 48 hours 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. People told us they received care from familiar staff who arrived at the expected time and completed the required tasks.

There were enough suitably trained care workers to deliver care and support to people. The provider checked the suitability of care workers to work with people who used the service during their recruitment. 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.

Care workers were knowledgeable about people's needs. Care plans and risk assessments contained relevant information for staff, to help them provide safe care in a way people preferred. People and their families had regular opportunities to meet with staff to review their care.

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 and registered person understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). Care staff completed training to develop an increased knowledge and understanding of the MCA. Care staff knew to gain people's consent before they provided care.

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.

People knew how to complain and said that the management team listened to them and responded promptly to their concerns. Staff felt supported to do their work and people felt able to contact the management team at any time.

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