Background to this inspection
Updated
4 April 2017
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
The service was last inspected in February 2014 and at that time, there were no breaches of regulations. One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.
Prior to the inspection, we looked at information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.
Before the inspection, we had asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they planned to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR and used it to assist in our planning of the inspection.
For the purpose of the inspection, we contacted and spoke with three people who used the service and three staff members. We spent time with the provider/registered manager and deputy manager. We looked at three people’s care records, together with other records relating to their care and the running of the service. This included four staff employment records, policies and procedures, audits and quality assurance reports.
Updated
4 April 2017
This inspection took place on 5 and 11 January 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure that the people we needed to speak with were available. At the time of this inspection, the service was providing the regulated activity of personal care to 14 people who lived in their own homes.
There was a registered manager in post. 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 registered manager was also the registered provider for the service.
The safety of people who used the service was taken seriously and the registered manager and staff were aware of their responsibility to protect people’s health and wellbeing. There were systems in place to ensure that risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were identified and addressed.
Staff were very motivated and enjoyed their roles and responsibilities. They were fully supported by the registered manager and a programme of training and supervision enabled them to provide a good quality service to people.
The registered manager ensured that staff had a full understanding of people’s care needs and had the skills and knowledge to meet them. People received consistent support from care workers who knew them well. People had positive relationships with their care workers and were confident in the service. People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness.
People received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people’s needs were quickly identified and their care package amended to meet their changing needs. The service was flexible and responded very positively to people’s requests. People who used the service felt able to make requests and express their opinions and views.
The provider was committed to continuous improvement. They demonstrated good values and, a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service. The service demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of effective quality assurance systems. There were processes in place to monitor quality and understand the experiences of people who used the service. The provider encouraged people to provide feedback on the service received. The service made changes in response to people’s views and opinions.