Background to this inspection
Updated
27 April 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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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 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 not a registered manager in post. However, the manager had submitted their application for registration, and this was in the process of being considered.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a domiciliary care provider and the provider is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care.
Inspection activity started on 04 April 2022 and ended on 06 April 2022. We visited the office location on 06 April 2022 to see the provider and staff; and to review care records, policies and procedures.
What we did before the inspection
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 information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 09 March 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.
We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. In total we spoke with seven staff members including four carers, one care coordinator the manager and area manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care plans and records of medicines administration. In addition, we looked at a variety of documents relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring checks and we confirmed the safe recruitment of five staff members.
Updated
27 April 2022
About the service
Radis Community Care (Stoke on Trent) is a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) registered to provide personal care. People were supported with their personal care needs to enable them to live in their own homes and promote their independence. At the time of the inspection the service supported 64 people with personal care.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were protected from the risks of ill-treatment and abuse as staff had been trained to recognise potential signs of abuse and understood what to do to if they suspected wrong doing.
The provider had assessed the risks to people associated with their care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks and knew what to do to minimise the potential for harm.
When required, people received safe support with their medicines by staff members who had been trained and assessed as competent. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures when supporting people.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and the provider supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the application of the policies and systems supported good practice.
The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and one-to-one supervision. People were supported to refer themselves to additional healthcare services, and staff supported them if required.
People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had developed positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age, religion, gender and disability.
People were provided with information in a way they could understand. The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any compliments or complaints from people or those close to them. The provider, and management team, had good links with the local communities within which people lived.
The management team and provider had systems in place to identify improvements and drive good care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update.
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (24 February 2020) and there was a breach of regulation 17 (good governance). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.