During an assessment under our new approach
About the service
Cottage HomeCare Services is a homecare agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes and flats. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 68 people with tasks related to personal hygiene, eating and medication administration.
Who the service is for
The service supports younger and older people some of whom have a diagnosis of dementia, mental health needs or a physical disability. The service was also supporting one person who has a learning disability
Key findings
We carried out this assessment from 25 July to 22 August. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We were satisfied that Cottage HomeCare met the expectations of this guidance.
People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely and were recruited safely. Staff received training and regular supervisions, which helped to ensure competency and compliance. However, some refresher training was overdue and further training was required in relation to dementia care.
Accidents and incidents were logged with information about the actions taken to help minimise the risk of further incidents. A complaints file also included learning that could be taken to help drive improvement in the service. Complaints were thoroughly investigated and a detailed letter was provided to the complainant with the outcome.
Risks were assessed and people and their families were involved in this process. There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse.
Medicines were administered safely and risk assessments were in place for those who self-administered. The service used an online system which alerted management to any missed or refused medication which helped to ensure that any issues were dealt with in a timely manner. Medication audits identified areas where improvements could be made.
Care plans were created with the person and their families where appropriate and included relevant information about their care and support needs and interests. Information was gathered in a face-to-face meeting before the care commenced to ensure all important information was recorded. People were supported according to their individual needs, by staff who were caring, compassionate and familiar to them.
People received person centered care and staff liaised with other healthcare professionals to ensure their needs were met. People’s independence was promoted through a variety of aids and adaptations used in their homes to ensure they could access care and support according to their needs and mobility.
Staff were supported through regular meetings and appraisals focusing on delivering high-quality care and treating each person as an individual, ensuring that they felt valued and listened to. The registered manager was supportive and approachable and fostered an open culture where staff felt comfortable to raise concerns and were confident they would be dealt with appropriately.
There was an effective structure within the service ensuring accountability and support. People who used the service and their families spoke highly of the management and how the service was run. We saw evidence of learning and development and a drive to continuously improve the service and ensure everyone received high quality, person-centred care.