Amily Homecare

Updated 18 October 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 two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the provider would be available to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 20 September 2019 and finished on 1 October 2019. We visited the office location on 20 September 2019.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to this inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service, including data about safeguarding and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. Providers are required to send us 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

As part of our inspection we spoke with three people who received care from Amily Homecare and visited one person in their home. We spoke with four relatives to gain their views of the service provided to their relatives. We also spoke with the provider, care manager and three staff members. We reviewed a range of documents about people's care and how the service was managed. We looked at five care plans, three staff files, medication administration records, risk assessments, policies and procedures and internal audits that had been completed.

After the inspection

Following the inspection, we spoke with an additional two staff members. We reviewed additional information requested from the provider including staff training records and further audit information.

Updated 18 October 2019

About the service

Amily Homecare provides personal care to people in their own homes. 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. The service was providing support to 39 people with personal care needs at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe with the staff providing their care. They told us staff arrived on time and stayed the duration of the call. Staff were clear regarding their responsibilities in keeping people safe from avoidable harm and abuse. Medicines were managed safely. The service monitored accidents and incidents to reduce the risk of them happening again.

People were supported by skilled staff who received a comprehensive induction, training and supervision to support them in their role. 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.

There was a strong ethos of supporting people and staff with kindness running throughout the service. People told us that staff were caring and always willing to help. People were involved in decisions regarding their care from the point of assessment and their care needs were continually reviewed. Support to access healthcare was provided when required. People told us staff responded quickly when they were unwell.

There was a positive culture throughout the service which put people at the centre of what they did. People’s opinions of the service were sought regularly and checks were completed on staff performance. Staff told us they felt supported in their roles. People and their relatives told us the management team were accessible and always willing to listen and respond promptly to any concerns or suggestions.

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 (published 22 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.