Academy Homecare Services

Academy Homecare Services is a domiciliary care service based in Kingswinford, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It provides care to people within their own homes, predominantly in the surrounding areas of Kingswinford. The service is operated by the provider, Academy Homecare Services Limited. At the time of the inspection there were 85 people using the service. The majority of those were receiving traditional packages of homecare support but some people were in receipt of reablement support, potentially for a short period of time, as commissioned by the local authority.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ The service continued to be good in all areas and this was reflected in the feedback we received from both people who used the service and their relatives.

¿ People receiving a service said they felt safe, with staff demonstrating a good understanding about how to protect people from the risk of harm.

¿ Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate checks carried out to ensure there were no risks presented to people using the service.

¿ There were enough staff to care for people safely and people told us staff always arrived to deliver their care. When staff were going to be late they were kept informed by the service.

¿ People received their medication as prescribed where this support was required.

¿ Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles competently. They had regular supervisions and annual appraisals and received good support from management. This enabled staff to provide safe and effective care for people.

¿ People received the support they required to eat and drink at meal times. Staff recognised the importance of food and fluids and encouraged people with these to promote good health and well-being.

¿ People who used the service and relatives made positive comments about the care provided. The feedback we received from people we spoke with was that staff were patient, kind and caring in their approach. People told us that staff often went over and above what was required of them.

¿ People were treated with dignity and respect and staff promoted their independence as required.

¿ People knew how to make a complaint. There was a complaints process in place. No formal complaints had been received at the time of this inspection although we saw that some concerns raised with management informally had been addressed.

¿ Appropriate systems were in place to monitor the quality of service being provided, with a variety of audits, spot checks, reviews and competency assessments used to check the quality of service being provided.

¿ We received positive feedback about the management and leadership of the agency. Everybody we spoke with said they would recommend the service. Staff said they felt valued and supported and could approach the registered manager and care manager with any concerns they had.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection of Academy Homecare Services the service was rated good (published 16 May 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service to ensure good quality care is provided to people. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales for ‘Good’ rated services, however if any further information of concern is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

People were very pleased with the service they received. They told us that care workers were caring and treated them with respect. People said they received the care in the way they wanted and at the time they had agreed. Comments included: "Very happy. Every time they do what I want. I couldn't have a better service" and "I am satisfied. I would recommend them".

The provider fully explained the service to people and sought their consent before providing a service. People's wishes and preferences were acted upon.

Care workers were appropriately supervised and supported to provide people with care to an appropriate standard. Care workers received the necessary training to provide people's care.

Systems were in place to gain the views of people who received a service. These views were acted upon to improve their care. The provider was checking and monitoring the quality of care people received. When shortfalls were identified these were addressed.

People told us that staff respected their privacy, dignity and independence. One person said, 'Staff always knock before entering and close the door when doing personal care so my family can't see me'.

Relatives told us that staff were caring and kind. Care was delivered in a personal way and people were happy with the care they received.

Staff told us they knew what abuse was and gave examples of different forms of abuse and how to report abuse. Records showed that staff had received training in recognising abuse and the process to follow in reporting abuse. One person said, 'I do feel safe, I always have the same staff'.

Records showed that the provider had a process in place to ensure the appropriate staff were recruited as part of keeping people safe.

Relatives told us they were able to give their views on the service people received. Records showed that the provider had a system in place to give people the opportunity to share their views.