17 March 2016
During a routine inspection
The service did not have a registered manager in post. The nominated individual for the service was also manager for the service however they had not registered as the manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
People and staff were positive about the management of the service and knew the management team well. However, the systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care people received were still being developed to ensure incidents, issues or concerns could be accurately recorded and responded to so. This included staff meetings being formalised, audit tools being developed and incident monitoring being reviewed robustly.
The provider had failed to ensure all the necessary recruitment checks had been carried out prior to a staff member commencing employment at the service, however they took action to complete this during the inspection and ensured the staff member would be supervised until this information was received.
People felt safe using the service and risk assessments were in place to ensure staff worked safely. Staff were clear on how to recognise and report abuse. There had been no accidents or reportable incidents and the service did not provide support with people’s medicines.
People received care that met their needs at call times that suited them. They were involved in the planning of their care and felt listened to. People received support with eating and drinking as needed and calls were flexible to support people to attend their hospital appointments. People were supported by regular staff who knew them well and they felt they had a good relationship with them. People were treated with dignity and respect.
People’s consent was obtained prior to support being given and staff were familiar with the Mental Capacity Act and how this may affect them in their role. Staff received appropriate training and supervision for their role. There was sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs.