14a Flax Road

Updated 21 June 2023

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 1 inspector.

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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection the previous registered manager had recently left. The provider stated that a new manager had been recruited and would be starting in the near future.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 1 days’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection. We also gave time for the provider to send us inspection information, so we did not have to spend an extended amount of time in the office of the service.

Inspection activity started on 4 May and ended 10 May 2023. We visited the office location on both these dates.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration and we sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service and 1 relative. We also spoke with the provider of the service, the general manager and 3 staff members. We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 care plans.

We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service. Policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 21 June 2023

14a Flax Road Care is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection, 3 people were receiving personal care. Not everyone who uses care at home services receives 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.

Quality assurance systems were not always effectively carried out to ensure people were provided with a safe and responsive service.

Information of how to reduce risks to people's safety were included in people's care plans but were not always detailed to fully ensure staff knew how to reduce risks.

Safe recruitment practices were in not fully in place to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service.

A person and their relative were aware of how to approach the provider to raise concerns or complaints. However this was not the experience of 1 person who said it had been difficult to contact the office when they had a query.

Everyone said they were satisfied with the care staff provided. People said safe care was provided and they were satisfied with the level of protection against the risk of infection. Care plans inspected reflected people’s individual needs. Enough staff were employed to meet people's needs and timely calls were in place to provide personal care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and a relative told us they were treated with respect and dignity and staff had a caring and friendly approach. They said they had good relationships with staff.

Staff respected people's privacy and encouraged them to keep their independence and do as much for themselves as they wanted to.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This is the 1st inspection of the service.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted by a concern we received that safe care had not been supplied to people. As a result, we undertook this comprehensive inspection.

Enforcement

We have found a breach in relation to the provider’s quality assurance systems. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of the full version of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.