19 and 23 January 2015
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 19 and 23 January 2015 and was announced.
At the last inspection on 8 January 2014, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in the way that medicines were managed, and this action has been completed.
Gozone care is a domiciliary care service that covers West Sussex. There are four area teams, in Chichester, Billingshurst, Petworth and Pulborough. The agency supports older people, people living with dementia, people with a physical, learning or sensory impairment and those with mental health conditions. They also provide palliative care. At the time of our visit, they were supporting 139 people with personal care. The majority of the people they support are older people, most of whom are privately funded.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
The agency’s philosophy of care is, ‘As a family run care agency that encourages freedom of choice and independence, we believe that everyone has the right to enjoy life. We take the time to understand your needs, your likes and dislikes and what makes you tick’. We found that this was people’s experience and that the culture of the agency was open and friendly.
People spoke highly of the support that they received. One said, “They’re absolutely brilliant, I can’t think of one thing to say against them. They have a cracker group of girls there”. Another told us, “We’re very pleased. The carer (male) we’ve got is top of the tree”. They told us that they had confidence in the ability of the staff who supported them. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care and felt that staff listened to them and understood how they liked to be supported.
People felt safe. There were enough staff employed and the rotas were managed effectively. People were usually able to make changes to their call times or durations to suit their needs. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and reviewed. Staff understood local safeguarding procedures. They were able to speak about the action they would take if they were concerned that someone was at risk of abuse. People received their medicines safely and at the right time.
People were treated with kindness and respect. They were each supported by a small team of care workers which meant that they developed good relationships with them. Where people had not felt at ease with the staff supporting them, the registered manager had made changes to the rota to accommodate this. We observed that people got along well with their care workers and were relaxed in their company.
People, their representatives and staff were asked for their views on how the service was run and were invited to make any suggestions for improvement. Ideas and concerns had been acted upon and complaints had been responded to appropriately.
The registered manager had a system to monitor and review the quality of care delivered. This included spot checks on staff as they supported people, gathering feedback via surveys and reviewing records of the care delivered. As the business was growing, the registered manager was making changes to the staffing structure to support this and help ensure that people received safe and appropriate care. One member of staff told us, “It’s the best company I’ve worked for. They really care about people and staff”.