25 January 2016
During a routine inspection
North Bay Home Care provides personal care support to approximately 11 people living in their own homes.
There was a registered manager in place. 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.
People told us they felt safe and secure when care staff visited them. There were systems in place to reduce the risks to people and action was taken to protect them from avoidable harm.
The service had in place robust recruitment procedures which ensured that staff had the appropriate skills, background and qualifications for the role. There were enough suitably trained and supported staff available to meet the needs of the people using the service.
Staff told us that the training they were provided with was sufficient to enable them to perform their role well. They told us they felt well supported by the management of the service.
The service was complying with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and appropriate assessments of people’s capacity had been undertaken where required. Staff understood consent and people told us that staff enabled them to make choices in their lives.
People spoke positively about the care and support they received from the service. People and their relatives told us they had input into the planning of their care and support. Care staff demonstrated they had a good knowledge of the people they were supporting.
There were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and to identify shortfalls or areas for improvement. Staff told us there was an open culture at the service. People using the service, their relatives and care staff were given the opportunity to express their views and these were acted on by the service. There was a complaints procedure in place and people told us they knew how to make a complaint if they weren’t happy.