Background to this inspection
Updated
14 December 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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided 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 Care Quality Commission. 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 the service a short notice period of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 19 November 2019 and ended on 25 November 2019. We visited the office location on 19 November 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff, the care manager and the registered manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. Three health and social care professionals provided feedback about working alongside or with this service.
Updated
14 December 2019
About the service
Aspen Live in Care support people to live independently within the comfort of their own homes. Staff live in with the person they care for providing personal care. The service was supporting 15 people at the time of this inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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; however, documentation did not always reflect the good practice.
We have made a recommendation that the provider review their systems in monitoring and recording incidents, to ensure action is taken promptly and lessons can be learned and shared.
People were supported by staff who had completed a comprehensive induction and had access to regular training and knowledge updates.
Systems and processes were in place to keep people safe. People felt comfortable and trusted the staff that lived in their home. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns.
People only had positive praise for the staff that supported them. Staff genuinely cared about the impact their role had to people’s lives and mutually respectful relationships had grown. The service valued and respected people’s individual beliefs and endeavoured to support them in the way they wanted to be supported.
The management were passionate about providing good end of life care to people and supporting their families at this difficult time. People had a clear plan in place of how they wished to be cared for and what was important to them.
People and their relatives could not speak highly enough of the management and the way the service was run. Communication in the service was good and people and staff felt listened to and valued.
Whilst people had been fully supported in practice the management had not submitted expected death notifications. The registered manager told us these would be sent without further delay.
Quality monitoring was undertaken, and people received regular visits to check all was well. The management team were committed to ensuring people received a positive experience when using the service.
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 19 April 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.