Background to this inspection
Updated
19 November 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of inspector.
Service and service type
Pol Community Care is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. This includes people with physical disabilities and dementia care needs.
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 24 hours notice of the inspection visit because it is a domiciliary service and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises to look at records and arrange to visit people in their own homes.
Inspection activity started on 28 October 2019 and ended on 1 November 2019. We visited the office location on 29 October 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We also reviewed information that we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, care manager, deputy manager and two care staff. We obtained consent from four people, who used the service, to visit them in their own homes. We reviewed four staff recruitment files, staff rotas, six care records and records relating to the running of the service.
After the inspection
We spoke with another five people and two relatives to seek their views of the service. We also spoke with five staff and a healthcare professional. We looked at training and supervision data and quality assurance records.
Updated
19 November 2019
About the service
Pol Community Care is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes in the community. The service mainly provides personal care for people in short visits at key times of the day to help people get up in the morning, go to bed at night and support with meals. Longer visits for a 'sitting' service are provided for some people.
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.
When we inspected the service was providing the regulated activity, personal care, to approximately 60 people in the St Austell, Saltash, Liskeard, Looe and Polperro areas of Cornwall.
People’s experience of using this service
People using the service consistently told us they felt safe and staff treated them in a caring and respectful manner. People had agreed the times of their visits and were kept informed of any changes. No one reported ever having had any missed visits.
Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people’s routines, likes and dislikes. Staff told us they enjoyed their jobs and were committed to providing a caring service. They were keen to support people to remain living in their own homes and retain their independence as much as possible.
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.
Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them.
Care plans were in place for everyone using the service. The service used an electronic care planning system and staff accessed this on their mobile phones. The information generated by this system was accurate, timely and detailed.
People were supported to access healthcare services, staff recognised changes in people's health, and sought professional advice appropriately.
New staff completed an induction which involved training and a period of ‘shadowing’ more experienced staff. Training was refreshed so staff were up to date with any changes in working practices.
There was a positive culture in the service and management and staff were committed to ensuring people received a good service. Staff told us they were well supported and had a good working relationship with each other and the management team.
People, their relatives and staff told us management were approachable and they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to 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. (Report published on 5 May 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.