Archived: Home From Home Care Services Ltd

Updated 19 January 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 was planned to check whether the registered person was 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.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed information we held about the service that included notifications of incidents that the registered person had sent us since our inspection on 22 March 2016. We also spoke by telephone with five people who used the service and with three of their relatives. We did this to obtain their views about how well the service was meeting people’s needs. In addition, we spoke by telephone with six members of staff who provided care for people in their homes.

We visited the administrative office of the service on 3 August 2016 and the inspection team consisted of a single inspector. The inspection was announced. The registered person was given a short period of notice because they are sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be available to contribute to the inspection.

During the inspection visit we spoke with the registered person and the office manager. In addition, we examined records relating to how the service was run including visit times, staffing, training and quality assurance.

Updated 19 January 2017

At the time of this inspection the service was registered to provide care from the address 12 West End, Holbeach, Lincolnshire PE12 7LW. However, the provider had moved their location and had applied to de-register this location and register at 34 Lime Walk, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire PE12 9HG. We undertook this inspection at the new location and the information in their report relates to the care provided from 34 Lime Walk.

Home From Home Care Limited provides care for people in their own homes. The service can provide care for adults of all ages including people with a physical disability, sensory needs and a learning disability. It can also provide care for people who have mental health needs and who experience an eating disorder. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care for 16 people all of whom were older people. The service covered Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Sutton St James, Holbeach and surrounding villages. The service is run by a company that has two directors. One of the directors is also the registered manager. In this report we refer to this individual as being, ‘the registered person’.

At our inspection on 9 and 15 October 2015 there were five breaches of legal requirements. We found that there were not enough staff to enable visits to be completed at the right times and medicines were not always safely managed. In addition, suitable steps had not always been taken to obtain consent from people about decisions that affected them and to ensure that decision were always taken in their best interests. We also found that the arrangements for resolving complaints, obtaining feedback from people who used the service and monitoring quality were not robust.

In relation to the breach concerning obtaining feedback and monitoring quality we took enforcement action and told the registered person to meet the legal requirement involved by 31 December 2015. We then completed a focused inspection on 22 March 2016 to check that the shortfall had been addressed. We found that the legal requirement had been met.

After the inspection on 9 and 15 October 2015 the registered person wrote to us to say what actions they intended to take to address the other four breaches of legal requirements. They said that all of the necessary improvements would be completed by 22 February 2016.

At the present inspection we found that the improvements necessary to meet the four remaining legal requirements had been made. There were enough staff to complete most visits in the right way, medicines were managed safety, decision making promoted people’s best interests and there were effective arrangements for resolving complaints.

However, further improvements were still necessary to ensure that people safely received all of the care they needed. This was because background checks had not always been completed before new staff were appointed.

Staff knew how to respond to any concerns that might arise so that people were kept safe from abuse and people had been reliably helped to avoid the risk of accidents.

Staff had received the training and guidance the registered person said they needed, they knew how to care for people in the right way. People had been assisted to eat and drink enough and they had been supported to receive all of the healthcare assistance they needed.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff recognised people’s right to privacy, promoted their dignity and respected confidential information.

People had been consulted about the care they wanted to receive and they had been given all of the assistance they needed. Staff promoted equality and diversity by ensuring that the care they provided responded to people’s individual lifestyles.

Good team work was promoted and staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns because the service was run in an open and inclusive way. People had benefited from staff acting upon good practice guidance.