Archived: Swallow Community Care

Updated 4 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 on adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Swallow Community Care is a domiciliary care agency; it provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone using this service receives a regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At the time of the inspection seven people were receiving support from the service, of whom five were receiving a regulated activity. Everyone was self-funding and no-one had been referred to the service by the local authority or any other organisation; no direct payments or personal budgets were used by anyone to fund their care. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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. Three care staff members were employed by the service.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is very small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 06 February 2019 and ended on 07 February 2019. We visited the office location on 06 February 2019 to see the manager and staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it registered with the Commission. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse.

During the inspection, we spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided; we also received written feedback from another relative. We spoke with the registered manager, and two other staff members, one of whom was also a manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records, risk assessments and medication administration records (MARs). We also looked at staff personnel records around recruitment, training and supervision. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, audits, and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 4 May 2019

About the service:

Swallow Community Care is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care and support for five people living in their own homes aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection; two other people were also being supported, but were not in receipt of a regulated activity.

People’s experience of using this service:

Staff had awareness of safeguarding and knew how to raise concerns. Steps were taken to minimise risk where possible.

Systems were in place to recruit staff safely and they were equipped with the skills required to provide effective care and support.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff supported people to access other healthcare professionals when required. Staff supported people to manage their medicines safely.

People were supported by a small group of regular staff which provided continuity and familiarity. Staff had developed relationships with people and knew them well; people received person-centred care as a result.

Staff promoted people's independence and treated them with dignity and respect.

People were involved in making decisions about their care and involved in reviews to ensure their care plans met their needs and supported them to achieve outcomes. Staff supported some people to access the community.

The service had an open and supportive culture. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of care delivered. There was evidence of improvement and learning from any actions identified.

There were sufficient numbers of trained staff to support people safely. Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff were appropriate to work with vulnerable people.

People’s needs were thoroughly assessed before starting with the service. People and their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process.

Staff were competent and had the skills and knowledge to enable them to support people safely and effectively. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. Staff received regular supervisions and annual appraisals were planned.

People were supported in a friendly and respectful way. People and their relatives were complimentary about the staff and their caring attitude.

People’s care plans were person-centred and provided staff with the information they needed to provide care and support in a way that met people’s needs and preferences. There was evidence that care plans were reviewed regularly or as people’s needs changed.

People knew how to make a complaint, although no formal complaints had been made to the service. There was an effective complaints process in place to deal with any complaints that might be raised in the future.

The registered manager and staff were committed to providing high quality care and support for people.

Rating at last inspection:

At our last inspection the service achieved an overall rating of Good; the report was published on 21 March 2016. The overall rating for this service has remained Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information 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