Updated 4 August 2022
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 was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. Both inspectors visited people in their own homes as well as the office. One inspector made calls to staff. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. This person spoke with people who used the service and their relatives.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. This service also provides care to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care service.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 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 May 2022 and ended on 12 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 4 May 2022. We visited people in their own homes on 5 May 2022. We spoke to people by telephone on 4 and 5 May 2022. We completed the registered manager interview by videocall on 12 May 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 visited the office location on 4 May 2022 where we reviewed documents relating to the running of the service, this included people’s care plans, staff recruitment records and records relating to governance. After the site visit, we reviewed other documents including staff training records and quality assurance records. We visited eight people in their own homes on 5 May 2022. We spoke with 19 people or their relative or representative via the telephone to receive their feedback. We spoke with eight staff including the registered manager and care staff. We completed a video telephone call to complete the registered manager interview on 12 May 2022.