Background to this inspection
Updated
2 February 2017
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
The inspection site visits took place on the 28 December 2016 and 3 January 2017 with calls to people using the service made from the 23 December 2016. The provider was given notice of our inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be at the office and to assist us to arrange home visits. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Before the inspection we reviewed information we had about the service. This included notifications from the provider; a notification is the way providers tell us important information that affects the care people receive. Before the inspection, we also asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed this information before we visited the service.
We visited two people in their own homes and observed interactions with two members of staff. We also spoke with people who used the service or their relatives by telephone. In total we spoke with seven people and relatives. We spoke with nine members of staff including, care staff, office staff, members of the family who owned the business, the new manager and the current registered manager. We reviewed records relating to four people’s care and support. We also looked at records related to the management of the service. This included two staff files, training records, meeting minutes and records of complaints and compliments. We asked the registered manager to send us information following our inspection related to the implementation of their plans. We received this on 10 January 2017. We also spoke with a representative from the local authority who had knowledge of the service.
Updated
2 February 2017
This inspection took place on the 28 December 2016 and 3 January 2017. We made calls to people using the service from the 23 December 2016. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
24 Seven Home Help is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service provided personal care and support for 26 people.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
24 Seven Home Help is a family run service. There had been personal demands on the family over the previous year which had impacted their oversight. They had acknowledged this and at the time of our inspection a new manager had been appointed who was applying to become the registered manager. The new management team had identified areas that required improvement and were able to provide us with evidence of their plans to address these shortfalls.
People were positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff treated them kindly and we saw people were comfortable with staff in their homes. Staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s care needs and spoke with confidence about the care they provided to meet those needs. They were motivated to provide the best care they could and told us they felt supported in their roles. They had received training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills to do their job effectively. They also understood how people made choices about the care they received, and encouraged people to make decisions about their care.
People felt safe. They were protected from harm because staff understood the risks they faced and how to reduce these risks. Staff knew how to identify and respond to abuse; including how to contact agencies they should report concerns about people’s care to. However, the records kept about people including their care plans and risk assessments did not reflect the knowledge of the staff or the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The management team acknowledged this and explained the plans they had in place to address these shortfalls.
People told us that medicines and creams were administered safely but we found that a time dependent medicine was not always given appropriately and recording was not accurate. Changes were made immediately to ensure people received their medicines safely.
There were enough safely recruited staff to ensure people received their visits as planned. People told us they mostly received visits on time and were usually contacted if the care worker was running late due to traffic or an emergency.
People had access to health care professionals and were supported to maintain their health by staff. Staff understood changes in people’s health and shared the information necessary for people to receive safe care. Where people had their food and drink prepared by staff they told us this was prepared well. People were left with access to appropriate drinks and food between visits.
People were positive about the care they received and told us the staff were friendly and kind. Staff treated people with respect and kindness throughout our inspection.