Background to this inspection
Updated
16 January 2020
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 houses and flats.
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 48 hours’ notice 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.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff and the registered manager who was also the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and 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. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
16 January 2020
About the service
Care Herts Limited is a domiciliary care service that is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of our inspection 19 people were being supported with personal care.
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 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 and relatives were happy with the service. They told us staff always visited at the agreed times and on the rare occasion when they were delayed they informed people. People felt safe and told us staff knew what risks were involved when supporting them. Staff managed people’s medicines safely when it was required.
Staff received training and were aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns internally and if needed externally to local safeguarding authorities.
People were complimentary about staff. They told us they were kind and caring. People felt listened and involved in their care.
Staff knew people well and were aware of people’s abilities, the help they needed, and the risks involved when delivering care and support.
People’s needs were assessed prior of them using the service and care plans were detailed with the support they needed at each visit.
Staff felt supported and well trained to follow best practice when supporting people. They complimented the registered manager for running a service responsive to people’s needs but also supporting and enabling staff to provide the best possible care for people.
The registered manager was fully involved in the care delivery and this meant that they were knowledgeable about people’s needs, received regular feedback about the service from people and they monitored staff practices.
There were quality assurance processes in place including audits, surveys and regular spot checks on staff to ensure the quality of the service provided was improved when needed.
The registered manager organised events for all the people who used their service throughout the year to give people more opportunities to interact and prevent social isolation. This support was extended more to people who had no nearby family to visit them regularly.
For more details, please see the full report for Care Herts Ltd which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (report published on 29 June 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.