Archived: Southover Community Care

Southover Community Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The agency provides care, support and personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, care was being provided to 16 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. The agency has strong links to a Christian church and their values are Christian based.

Not everyone using Southover Community Care Limited received a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we take account of any wider social care provided.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us that they felt safe when staff were in their homes. A person told us, “I feel safe knowing they are here for me. I live home alone so it’s nice knowing they are coming. I feel safe, definitely.” Risks were identified at the outset, were assessed and reviewed. People, relatives and professionals were involved in the review process.

People received support from the same staff except during periods of leave and sickness. People knew who would be coming to support them each day and people and staff got to know each other well. The agency employed enough staff to meet people’s needs and care calls had not been missed.

Staff were recruited safely and demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and the process to follow if they had concerns. Staff were confident about reporting concerns and were aware of the whistleblowing policy.

People were supported to make decisions and to remain independent. Everyone told us that staff had a good understanding of people’s care and support needs. Staff had regular supervision meetings and spot checks. This was done to make sure they continued to provide good care and support for people. Staff knew people well and spoke about them with knowledge and compassion.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way. Service policies and procedures supported this. People had access to health and social care professionals and were supported to make and then attend appointments. Some people were supported with food and drink and with medicines.

Everyone we spoke to said that staff were caring and respected people’s wishes. A professional told us, “They take time with people. I’ve never known a service like it.”

Staff knew how to communicate with people who had different needs. They helped them make choices and decisions for themselves. A complaints policy was in place and was easily accessible. People and relatives told us they felt confident if they needed to raise any issue or complain.

People, relatives and professionals told us that the service was well run. A relative said, “We feel 100% confident that they are in good care.” The registered manager was very experienced in working in adult social care. She explained that the service was a not for profit service which meant that they invested any profit into the agency. They said they had the safe care of people at the heart of the service.

Rating at last inspection:

Southover Community Care Limited was rated as good overall and good in all domains at their last inspection. The last report was published on 9 November 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned, comprehensive inspection. The inspection took place in line with CQC scheduling guidelines for adult social care services.

Follow up:

We will review the service in line with our methodology for ‘good’ services.

There was 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People received care from staff that were kind, caring and passionate about providing the care and support people wanted to enable them to stay in their own homes. They would go the ‘extra mile’ to ensure that people were happy and safe in their homes.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care and support people needed and were supported by a registered manager who was approachable, receptive to ideas and committed to providing a high standard of care.

Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. People told us that they felt cared for safely in their own home. Staff understood their role in caring for people with limited or no capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People had care plans that were personalised to their individual needs and wishes. Records contained detailed information to assist care workers to provide care and support in an individualised manner that respected each person's individual requirements and promoted treating people with dignity.

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required safely and at the times they needed. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.

The registered manager was approachable and continually monitored the quality of the service provided. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.

We saw that people experienced safe and effective care based on detailed care plans and risk assessments that met individual need.

People using the service were protected from abuse as they were supported by a staff team who had appropriate knowledge and training on safeguarding adults. People told us that if they had concerns they would report them to the manager.

Staff we spoke to and records we reviewed demonstrated that staff were suitably experienced and skilled to support people in their homes. A staff member told us 'we take full pride in our care agency' and that 'clients come first'.

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service.

The people we spoke with told us they were happy with the care they had received and with the staff team. One person who used the service told us 'I am treated with dignity and respect and they meet my care needs'. Another person who used the service told us 'I have no complaints at all. I would recommend this care to anyone'. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the support needs of the people who used the service. One member of staff we spoke with told us 'Working at Southover Care is 100% better than the previous care agency I worked for. I am really happy'.

Staff we spoke with confirmed that they felt supported and had received relevant training, which included the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. We saw that the service had ensured staff were able to deliver care and treatment safely through regular training and assessments. The service had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and to gain the views of the people who used the service.