We carried out a review of the data available to us about Homecare For You Bolton 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 Homecare For You Bolton, you can give feedback on this service.
Homecare For You Bolton is a domiciliary care agency, registered to provide personal care to people of all ages. At the time of inspection, the service was providing support to 180 people across areas in Bolton, Rochdale and Bury.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives reported feeling safe when receiving care. Staff wore PPE appropriately and showed a good understanding of donning and doffing, including how used PPE should be disposed of. Staff reported having access to PPE stock and said this was plentiful. Medication was managed safely, with staff receiving training and the provider carrying out competency checks. Staffing levels had remained manageable despite staff leaving caring roles; the provider had increased hourly rates for carers and recognised the difficulties they faced in recruiting new staff. We recommend the provider continues to try and recruit new staff and promote roles within the care team.
The provider demonstrated assessments relating to people’s care were person centred. Risks associated with the provision of people’s care were clearly identified and guidance was provided for staff to follow. The provider actively promoted a staff team made up of people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds; this was done specifically to meet cultural needs of people.
Staff received an induction programme and there were robust systems in place for ongoing training, competency checks and assessments of staff knowledge. When the training manager identified gaps in staff’s knowledge a support programme was implemented.
We found there was sufficient audits and oversight systems in place. However, there were areas where increased detail would benefit the providers oversight. The provider had begun to address this before we inspected and was implementing an electronic data system which would increase daily oversight, enable the provider to respond in real time and provide detail for audits to be carried out regularly.
People and relatives felt carers were responsive to their needs and reported that they felt in control of their care. Feedback relating to people, relatives and staff being able to contact the office or on-call, was mixed. Some people reported having no issues contacting the office and some explained they were unable to speak with anyone and concerns were not always followed up. We discussed this with the registered manager following the inspection and they explained they would implement extra on call contact numbers, create a new schedule for on-call that meant two staff members could be contacted and build in checking messages people had left into the daily tasks for co-ordinators. We have recommended that these systems are implemented in a timely manner.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was Good (published 19 September 2021).
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Homecare For You - Bolton on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.
Homecare For You provides personal care and daily living tasks to support people to remain 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe with the service and staff knowledge of safeguarding issues was good. Concerns were documented and followed up. Individual and general risk assessments were in place and updated regularly. Where people needed assistance with medicines this was done safely.
Staff were recruited safely and there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Communication around staff changes or lateness needed to be improved.
Full assessments were carried out prior to a person commencing at the service and care needs documented. People’s nutrition and hydration requirements and risks were recorded.
Staff had a full induction programme and training was on-going. People we spoke with were satisfied with the level of skills and knowledge staff demonstrated.
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 felt they were treated well and the support was good. Diversity was respected and people were invited to participate care planning and reviews. On visits to people’s homes we saw that staff were mindful of people’s privacy and delivered personal care in a discreet and respectful manner.
The service tried to ensure people were matched with care workers who were suited to them and to ensure a small support team was assigned to the person for consistency of care.
The complaints procedure was outlined in the service user guide. Complaints were documented and responded to in a timely manner.
Notifications were sent in to CQC as required. Staff had a clear understanding of their role.
Audits and quality checks were regularly undertaken, analysed and any patterns or trends addressed with actions. This demonstrated that the service took learning from the checks.
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 27 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.
Homecare For You provides personal care and daily living tasks to people that enables them to remain in their own homes.
The service had a registered manager in post who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual took over the responsibility of the registered manager’s role following our last inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was supported by an experienced branch manager.
We saw that appropriate policies were in place with regard to safeguarding and whistle-blowing. Staff spoken with were able to demonstrate an understanding of safeguarding issues and knew what to do if they suspected any poor practice or allegations of abuse. Staff were aware of the whistle-blowing policy and told us they would not hesitate to whistle-blow if they felt their concerns were not being listened to or any actions taken. The service had made safeguarding referrals to the local authority safeguarding team as required.
We found the recruitment processes was robust, this helped to ensure that people were suitable to work with vulnerable people.
All new staff completed a comprehensive induction on starting work at the service. This covered both practical and classroom training as well as shadowing of experienced staff. Training covered the fundamental standards linked to the Care Standards Certificate. The training matrix showed that staff training was on-going.
Appropriate risk assessments were in place and had been reviewed and updated as required. Accidents and incidents and follow up actions were recorded.
People spoken with told us that the care staff were reliable and kind. People were treated with dignity and respect. Equality and diversity was respected and the service supported people, where appropriate with their individual needs and culture.
The care records we looked at were person centred and contained sufficient information to guide staff on the care and support people required.
There was a complaints policy and procedure in place. People we spoke with knew how to make a complaint and felt that their complaints/concerns would be dealt with by the registered manager or the branch manager in an appropriately manner.
The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA). Consideration was given to people’s ability to make decisions, best interests decisions were made appropriately and consent was sought for all interventions.
A recent medication audit completed by Bolton local authority showed that medications were administered safely. The service also carried out medication checks and other audits.
Records showed that the CQC had been notified as required of any significant incidents or safeguarding's.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out this unannounced inspection on 14 October 2015. Homecare For You is an established agency providing care for 138 adults in the Bolton area enabling people to remain in their own homes.
This was the first inspection since the agency had recently moved into their new offices on Halliwell Road, Bolton. We last inspected the agency on 23 May 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations we reviewed.
There was a registered manager at the service. 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.
As part of the inspection we visited the office and spoke with the provider, the office manager, the training and development officer and the care coordinator. We also contacted by telephone four members of staff and five people who used the service and a relative.
People who used the service spoke positively about the care, kindness and support they received from the care staff who visited them.
Staff spoken with told us the registered manager was mainly based at the agency’s other office and hardly spent any time at the Bolton office. Four of the care staff we spoke with told us they thought the office manager was the registered manager. They were unaware of the registered manager’s name. This was also confirmed by three people who used the service. Care staff told us they found the office manager and the care coordinator approachable and they felt well supported by them.
We saw that care records were in process of being reviewed and updated by the office manager, these included information about people’s likes, dislikes, interests and personal preferences. We saw that risk assessments were in place to help keep people who used the service safe. These were also being reviewed.
The provider had up to date policies and procedures in place, these were kept electronically.
Recruitment procedures including an application form, references and other forms of identification were in the staff files we looked at. Checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) were in place to help ensure people employed were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. On checking some staff files we saw that some staff emergency contact details were missing. In case any staff emergencies that may occur contact details should be documented. The office manager agreed to address this.
An annual satisfaction survey had been undertaken to ascertain people’s opinions of their care delivery. We saw the results of the most recent survey which demonstrated that people were positive about their experience of the service delivery.
The service user guide (information for people who used the service) was out of date. This was dated 23/11/2012 and referred to Essential Standards of Quality and Safety which were no longer in use. Information on how to make a complaint was in the service user guide in each care plan. The address and telephone number for people to contact the CQC were incorrect. We saw four complaints had been made about the service. These had been followed up appropriately by the office manager and resolved.
Providers are required by law to notify CQC of certain events in the service such as serious injuries, deaths and any allegations of abuse. Records we looked at and discussion with the local authority, confirmed that CQC had not received notifications of abuse. This is an offence under Regulation 18 (2) (e) of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (Part 4). This matter will be dealt with outside the inspection process.
We found the system for managing medicines was not consistency safe ensuring that people received their medicines in a safe and timely manner. This was a breach of Regulation 12 (2) (g) of the Health and Social Care 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to safe care and treatment.
We saw some checks and audits were being undertaken on care plans and medication, however there was no best evidence to show any analysis and what actions were being taken to improve the quality of the service.This was a breach of Regulation 17 (2) (a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to good governance.
The office manager held monthly staff meetings, however staff attendance was poor. The registered manager had not been present at any staff meetings since January 2014 to date. Minutes of meetings had been recorded but were not distributed to all the care staff.
We saw that the office manager and the care coordinator had undertaken supervisions with care staff. Care staff spoken with confirmed that they had met with the office staff. We saw for the office staff and the training and development officer that supervision was ad-hoc and not carried out on a regular basis.This was a breach of Regulation18 (2) (a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in respect of staffing.
All new care staff completed an induction programme on commencing work with the agency. New care staff were receiving training on the day of the inspection. The staff training matrix showed us what training staff had undertaken and when refresher training was due. There was evidence of training certificates in the staff files we looked at.