Archived: Caring for You (Charter Care)

Field House (Charter Care) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 114 people in their own homes at the time of the inspection. The service mainly supports older adults, people living with dementia and or people living with physical disabilities.

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 did not always receive safe care. We found inconsistencies in the recordings of prescribed creams and there was insufficient guidance in place around ‘as required’ medications. Whilst staff were able to tell us about the risks associated with peoples care, risk assessments were not consistently in place for people’s individual needs. Staff were safely recruited and understood how and when to raise any safeguarding concerns. People were protected from the risk of infection by good infection control practice.

People received effective care. People received support to eat and drink meals of their choosing and where required were supported to access appropriate healthcare. Staff had received training in people’s needs. 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 supported and cared for by the staff team. People had been involved in developing a plan of care based on their preferences. Staff informed us they enjoyed their role of supporting people.

People received care that was responsive to their needs. People’s care had been reviewed to ensure it continued to meet their needs. People were aware of how to raise concerns, should they have any, and felt confident that these would be addressed.

The service was not always well led. Governance systems were either not in place or not robust. This meant that systems were not effective in monitoring the quality and safety of the service. There were systems in place to seek feedback from people and their relatives.

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 20 June 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to the quality monitoring of the service.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Field House (Charter Care) is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care to people who wish to remain independent in their own homes. The agency provides services throughout Walsall and Wolverhampton, and provides care for people with healthcare and social care needs. At the time of our inspection there were 117 people using the service. This was the service's first inspection since registering with us.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

Robust systems and processes were in place to keep people safe. Assessments of risk had been completed and staff had clear guidance on how to support people safely. Staff demonstrated that they knew how to identify abuse and report it appropriately. The provider used safe recruitment practices to ensure staff were suitable people to provide care.The provider ensured there were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people received calls on time.

Staff followed appropriate procedures to ensure people received the medicines they needed safely. These included clear guidance to staff on the application of “as required” creams and the name, purpose and dosage of medicines people were taking.

Staff knew how to support people’s rights and ensure they consented to the care they provided. Staff communicated with people effectively to ensure they received the care they wanted.

Staff received training in the areas of care which effected people. New staff underwent an induction process to familiarise themselves with the role and the support people required. Staff communicated with people in the best way for the person.

Staff supported people to eat and drink in a way which followed specialist assessment and guidance. Staff contacted healthcare professionals, when required, to support people’s health and well-being.

People received care from a consistent staff group who showed compassion and empathy. People’s care was regularly reviewed to ensure it was up to date. Staff supported people with their independence, dignity and privacy.

People knew how to raise any concerns they might have with the provider. The provider ensured people had received guidance on how to raise issues. People were able to communicate with the management team when they needed to.

We found the registered manager and provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of care. Audits were undertaken of both records and the personal care provided by staff, although some records required further development. Staff received regular one to one meetings with management and feedback about their performance and development in a constructive way.