Archived: Drewdales Homecare Services

Updated 7 March 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.’

The inspection included a visit to the agency’s office on 2 February 2017. To make sure key staff were available to assist in the inspection the provider was given short notice of the visit, in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. An adult social care inspector conducted the inspection.

To help us to plan and identify areas to focus on in the inspection we considered all the information we held about the service. Before the inspection, the provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well, and improvements they plan to make. We looked at any notifications sent to us. We also requested the views of other agencies that worked with the service, such as service commissioners and the local authority safeguarding team.

At the time of our inspection there were nine people using the service. During the visit to the office we visited two people who used the service in their home. Following our visit to we spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service and three relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, the two directors and a bank care worker employed at the service.

We looked at documentation relating to people who used the service and staff, as well as the management of the service. This included reviewing people’s care records, medication records, staff recruitment, training and support files, as well as minutes of meetings, quality audits, policies and procedures.

Updated 7 March 2017

The inspection took place on 2 February 2017 with the provider being given short notice of the visit to the office in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. The service was registered with the Commission in June 2015 and this was the first rated inspection.

Drewdales Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Its office is based in Sprotborough near Doncaster. The agency mainly supports older people, including some people who are living with dementia but also supports younger people with personal care needs.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our 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.

At the time of our inspection there were nine people using the service. We visited two people who used the service, and spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service and three relatives. When we asked them about their experiences of using the agency they told us they were happy with the service provided.

We saw there were systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about safeguarding people and were able to explain the procedures to follow should an allegation of abuse be made.

We saw there were systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about safeguarding people and were able to explain the procedures to follow should an allegation of abuse be made.

We found the service employed enough staff to meet the needs of the people being supported. Staff had completed training to be able to meet people’s needs, and received regular supervision, which meant they were well supported.

We found people received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Their needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and where possible they, and their relatives, had been involved in formulating their care package. Care records sampled identified people’s assessed needs and care plans were being developed to ensure needs and preferences, as well as any risks associated with their care and the environment they lived in were documented.

Where people needed assistance taking their medication this was administered following procedures that ensured they were administered as prescribed and met people’s needs.

We found the service to be meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The management team had a good understanding and knowledge of this. The provider was also accessing more information to be able to understand how this would impact on the people they supported in the community.

People were provided with information about how to raise a concern and how it would be addressed. The people we spoke with told us they were confident that any concerns they raised would be dealt with promptly.

The registered manager and providers had a clear oversight of the service, and of the people who were using it. People were encouraged to share their views about the quality of the care provided. Quality assurance systems had been developed to monitor how the service operated and identify areas for improvement. However, these systems were not formally documented.