Archived: HF Trust - Worcestershire DCA

Updated 22 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type: This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses or supported living accommodation. It provides a service to adults with mental health issues or a learning disability.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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 site visit because the service is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure there would be someone at the office.

Inspection site visit activity started on 27 March 2019 and ended on 28 March 2019. We visited the office location on 27 March 2019 to see the senior care worker and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. During the week commencing 8 April 2019 we also spoke with two staff and the registered manager.

What we did: Prior to the inspection the provider completed a PIR (provider Information return). The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed safeguarding alerts and notifications that had been sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection we spoke with the senior care worker, the regional manager and the service administrator. We visited four people in their own homes and spoke to them about the care they were receiving. We also spoke with one relative who was visiting a person at the time of our inspection. Following the inspection, we spoke with two support workers and the registered manager over the telephone. We looked at a range of records including four care records of people who used the service, medicine records, staff recruitment and training records and a range of other policies and quality monitoring documents.

Updated 22 May 2019

About the service: HF Trust - Worcestershire DCA provides personal care services to adults with a mental health issue and a learning disability, living in either their own home or supported living. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service: People using the service benefitted from good care, delivered in a manner which was personal to them and based on their assessed needs. Relatives we spoke with praised both the care staff and the management for the work they did in ensuring good quality care was provided.

People told us they felt safe when being supported with care and said all the staff worked in a way that respected their privacy and dignity. People knew care staff well and welcomed them into their homes and their lives. Staff told us they felt supported by the senior support worker and organisation. People and relatives felt involved in care decisions and determining how they could be best supported.

People we visited looked happy and relaxed and spoke fondly and positively about staff. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of people as individuals and the care and support they required. Relatives told us they felt involved in the care process and that they could contact the service at any time. The service supported people to engage with their local community and assisted them to attend a range of appointments.

Staff told us they were happy working for the service and there was a good team in place. They confirmed they could access a range of training and could contact senior staff in the organisation. Quality checking processes were in place, although these had faltered recently due to the absence of the registered manager and staff changes. We have made a recommendation about the management of the service. Staff felt confident about the future of the service.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated as good. (report published April 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with schedule for those services rated as good.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk