Updated 28 August 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 and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
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
This inspection was announced.
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.
Inspection activity started on 6 August 2019 and ended on 8 August 2019. We visited the office location on 7 August 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 this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During our inspection we spoke over the telephone with one person who used the service and two relatives. We also spoke with two members of care staff. The registered manager and one of the directors. We did this to gain people's views about the care and to check that standards of care were being met.
We looked at care records for three people. We checked the care they received matched the information in their records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including audits carried out to ensure people received a safe and effective service.
After the inspection
We gave the provider the opportunity to send us any audits that related to the service. The provider sent us some information the following day that we considered as part of our inspection.