We carried out a review of the data available to us about Solihull Home Care on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Solihull Home Care, you can give feedback on this service.
People’s experience of using this service:
• People felt safe receiving care from staff and with the staff that supported them with care.
• The provider’s recruitment procedures had ensured staff were safely recruited.
• Risks related to people’s health were identified and acted upon.
• Staff knew how to protect people from potential abuse and avoidable harm to keep them safe.
• Medicines were managed safely, and people received them as prescribed.
• There were enough staff to support people’s needs including any emergency care needs.
• People's needs were assessed before they started at the service and staff completed training to ensure these needs could be met safely and effectively.
• People said staff were very caring and kind in their approach and knew them well.
• Staff supported people consistently and this enabled them to provide them with care and support in ways they preferred.
• People were provided with support to access healthcare professionals when needed.
• 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’s care plans contained detailed information for staff to ensure people received the personalised care and support they had agreed.
• Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s privacy and dignity.
• People were supported to be as independent as possible.
• The provider had various quality monitoring systems to check people received safe care and support in accordance with the providers policies and procedures.
• Overall, people were extremely happy with the care received from Solihull Home Care. People knew how to make a complaint should they have any concerns about the service.
• Where concerns were identified, for examples referrals to the safeguarding team, these had not always been notified to us in a timely way, to enable us to monitor the service.
We found the service met the characteristics of ‘Good’. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: ‘Good’. The last report for Solihull Home Care was published on 29 September 2016.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The previous ‘good’ service provided to people remains unchanged.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
We visited the offices of Solihull Home Care on 10 August 2016. We told the provider 48 hours before the visit we were coming so they could arrange to be available to talk with us about the service.
This was the first inspection of the service since registration.
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 registered manager was also an owner of the company.
We received some excellent feedback from people we spoke with about the service and the staff that visited them. People said the kindness of staff exceeded their expectations of how they would be cared for and supported. People were extremely happy with the care they received, they said staff were very caring and had made a positive difference to their lives. People received care from regular staff they knew well and were able to build friendships with. Staff we spoke with were highly motivated to provide a good service to people they supported. Staff often provided additional voluntary support to some of the people they visited, with their consent.
People were involved in the planning of their care, and care plans focused on the individual’s preferences and how they would like their care delivered. Plans were regularly reviewed to make sure people continued to have the support they needed. Detailed guidance was provided to staff about how to provide all areas of the care and support people needed.
People felt safe using the service and managers and staff understood their responsibility to protect people from abuse and keep people safe. There were procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care and for managing people’s medicines safely. Checks were carried out prior to care staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service.
The managers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and staff respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
There were enough staff to deliver the care and support people required. People told us they received support from a regular team of staff who had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively. The managers had completed qualifications to develop their skills and manage the service effectively.
People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available to them. Staff said they could raise any concerns or issues with the management team, knowing they would be listened to and acted on.
There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people and staff, returned surveys and regular checks on care staff. There was a programme of other checks and audits which the provider used to monitor and improve the service.
The management team provided good leadership and people who used the service found them approachable and responsive. Staff said they received excellent support from the management team. People were able to share their views and opinions about the service they received.
The management team were committed to providing a high quality service to people. Feedback from people, and their representatives were continually sought and used as an opportunity for improving the service people received. The registered manager demonstrated strong values and a commitment to implement best practice through links with other organisations and their continued personal development.