Background to this inspection
Updated
27 July 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, 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
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager registered with the CQC. 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with 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
We spoke with three people who used the service, and two people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, director, deputy manager and four members of staff.
We looked at two people's care records in full and two people's care records in part. This included medication administration records and people's daily notes. We looked at three staff's recruitment, induction, training and supervision records as well as other records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
A second inspector spoke with another two people who used the service, and three people's relatives for their feedback about the care and support provided.
Updated
27 July 2019
About the service
Care Services Thirsk Limited is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to older people and younger adults, as well as people who may be living with a learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, dementia, mental health needs, a physical disability or sensory impairment.
Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service
People received reliable and person-centred care from kind and caring staff.
Management focussed on assessing staff’s values through the recruitment process to make sure they were caring. New staff completed comprehensive shadowing and were introduced to the people they supported to learn how best to meet their needs. Staff understood people’s needs and provided person-centred care according to people’s likes, dislikes and personal preferences. People’s privacy and dignity were maintained.
People told us staff were on time, never missed a visit and they were supported by regular and familiar staff. People enjoyed staff’s company and had developed positive caring relationships with them.
People were kept safe by staff who were trained to identify and respond to any safeguarding concerns. People received safe support to take prescribed medicines and to make sure they ate and drank enough.
People were supported to seek medical attention if they were unwell or an accident or incident had occurred.
Staff listened to people, offered them choices and followed their instructions. 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.
Management were ‘hands on’ and closely monitored the quality and safety of the service. They were proactive in supporting staff. Staff told us management were approachable and very supportive. Supervisions and appraisals provided an opportunity for staff to reflect on their performance and identify goals for the future.
Management listened and responded to any complaints and were committed to continually learning, developing and improving the service. We recommended they review and develop record keeping in relation to accidents and incidents and to provide clearer evidence of how new staff had been assessed as competent.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC’s website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection
At the last inspection service was rated Good (report published 6 December 2016).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.