Updated 18 January 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one Expert by Experience who spoke with people and their relatives on the telephone. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who used 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 homes 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 notice of the inspection. We needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to arrange to speak with people over the phone.
Inspection activity started on 19 December 2022 and ended on 23 December 2022. We visited the location’s office on the 19 December 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the 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 looked at a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records and two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of policies and a range of quality assurance systems. During the inspection the inspector spoke with the registered manager and the quality assurance lead.
An expert by experience spoke with three people and two relatives on the phone on the day of the inspection. Following the inspection, the inspector contacted seven people and managed to gain views from four people. They also contacted seven staff and managed to gain views from three.