S & W Independent Living

Updated 29 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The service provides care and support to people living in their own homes so they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave short notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection site visit activity started on 10 October and ended on 16 October 2019.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection visit 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. The registered manager completed a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what they do well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We visited two people in their homes and spoke with a further five people over the telephone. During the visits we discussed peoples care plans and medication procedures and systems. We also spoke with a health care professional who visited a person while we were at their home. We spoke with four relatives on the telephone and one health care professional, and we received feedback in writing from a further two professionals.

We spoke with nine staff including, a team leader, a senior care worker, care staff, the office manager, care coordinator, deputy manager and the registered manager. We looked at documentation relating to four people who used the service, two staff files and information relating to the management of the service.

Updated 29 November 2019

About the service:

S & W Independent Living is a domiciliary care agency proving care and support to people in their own homes in the community. The service provides support to predominantly older people.

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, eating and medication. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

On the day of our inspection 66 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and relatives we spoke with told us staff were excellent and made them feel safe. Staff understood safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures. We found adequate staff were employed to meet people’s needs. The recruitment process was robust to ensure only staff suitable to work with vulnerable adults were employed. The registered manager promoted a focus on openness and transparency. This ensured staff learned when things went wrong. Accidents and incidents were monitored to enable positive risk taking. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Medication systems were in place and followed by staff to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed. Documentation to improve systems was being implemented at the time of our inspection.

Staff were extremely knowledgeable about people needs, people told us the care provided was person-centred and individualised. Staff said training was good and kept their knowledge up to date. Staff were supervised and supported. 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 who required support with meals were supported to be able to receive a balanced diet. People had access to health care professionals, staff worked closely with professionals to ensure people's needs were met. Professionals we spoke with told us the care provided was excellent.

When staff engaged with people they were kind and caring and compassionate. People told us the staff were fantastic. People were involved in their care planning to ensure their decisions and choices were reflected. Staff, people who used the service and health care professionals we spoke with told us the communication was good. Staff told us this was one area that had greatly improved. People told us they were listened to and any issues were resolved immediately.

People told us they were supported by the same group of staff, which ensured consistency. People told us staff were flexible and their care was consistently delivered to meet their needs and choices. People received care that was responsive to their needs. Staff understood people's needs, including social, cultural, values and beliefs. One person said, “The staff are so good, [family member] wouldn’t still be at home if it wasn’t for the care staff.”

People were supported at the end of their life to have a comfortable, dignified and pain free death. The agency worked closely with health care professionals and provided outstanding end of life care. They also worked closely with the local hospice to ensure all aspect of end of life care were identified. The staff ensured people and their families wishes were explored and plans developed so these were met. Staff were extremely passionate to ensure all people's needs were met and wanted to provide the highest possible quality of care including supporting family members.

The service had a management team who conducted a range of audits in areas such as, medicine management, health and safety, care plans and daily records documentation. We found the monitoring was effective. For example, the care coordinator had identified the need to improve documentation in medicine management this was being implemented at the time of our inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (report published 30 March 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.