Background to this inspection
Updated
18 March 2021
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service short notice of the inspection and provided an explanation as to the inspection process, and to assure ourselves effective implementation of COVID-19 guidance when visiting the office. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 2 March 2021 and ended on 4 March 2021. We visited the office location on 2 March 2021, contacted people using the service, relatives and staff on the 3 and 4 March 2021. We provided telephone and written feedback to the registered manager on the 5 March 2021.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, and the provider’s representative. A further three members of staff made contact via email with their views on working for the company.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, team meeting minutes and quality assurance records. We sought feedback from two health and social care professionals.
Updated
18 March 2021
About the service
Agincare UK Bristol is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people living in their
own homes in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. At the time of our inspection 141 people were using the service.
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 spoke highly of the care and support they received from care and office staff. Visits were completed at the time agreed and for the full amount of time. Care was person centred and people were asked how they wanted to be supported. Staff knew people well and ensured their care needs were met.
Staff knew how to keep people safe and free from avoidable harm. Risk assessments were in place. Staff knew what to report to the office to ensure people were safe. Policies and procedures were in place to guide staff on keeping people safe and the reporting of allegations of abuse.
The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of supporting people safely during the current pandemic. Staff felt supported and valued. There had been sufficient personal protective equipment, staff training and regular updates throughout. Regular COVID-19 testing was in place for all staff weekly and results were passed to the management team. People confirmed they felt safe during this period of time.
Staff were recruited safely. New staff were supported in their role and shadowed more experienced staff.
People, relatives and staff spoke positively about how the service was managed. There were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of the service including seeking feedback from people using the service and staff.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published June 2018).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management of staff absence. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
The overall rating for the service remained the same good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agincare UK Bristol on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.