121 Care

Updated 29 November 2019

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

The 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 and in specialist housing. The provider is also the registered manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 21st October 2019 and ended on 11th November 2019. We visited the office location on 21st October 2019 and 11th November 2019

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke, by telephone, with ten people who used the service and four of their relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with ten members of staff including the provider/registered manager, deputy manager, senior staff, team leaders and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included ten people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff development. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received training data and quality assurance records. We contacted four professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 29 November 2019

About the service

121 Care is a domiciliary care service delivering care and support to people in their own homes living in West Cumbria. At the time of the inspection the provider was supporting approximately 120 people, mainly older adults. 121 Care delivers personal care and also cares for people who may be at the end of life. They also support some people with basic home nursing tasks that have been delegated to them by the community nurses.

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 told us they felt safe. Staff had received suitable training about protecting vulnerable adults. Good arrangements were in place to ensure new members of staff had been suitably vetted. Accidents and incidents were responded to appropriately.

Staff were appropriately inducted and developed. Team members understood people's needs and had suitable training and experience in their roles. The service employed enough staff to cover the programme of calls in all areas.

Staff supported people to get health care and staff managed medicines well. The service had good working relationships with health care professionals. Staff supported people to eat well and stay hydrated.

The staff team were aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us the staff were caring and respectful and made sure confidentiality, privacy and dignity were maintained.

Risk assessments and care plans provided detailed guidance for staff. People using the service, or their relatives, as appropriate, had influenced the content. The provider/registered manager ensured the plans reflected the person- centred care that was being delivered.

Staff could access specialists if people needed communication tools like sign language or braille.

The service had a quality monitoring system and people were asked their views in a number of different ways. Quality assurance was used to support future planning.

The provider/registered manager understood how to manage concerns or complaints appropriately. There had been no recent complaints.

Records were well organised, easy to access and stored securely.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (21st April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.