All inspections: Shirebrook Miners Welfare Charity Centre ILS

This inspection took place on 6 January 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we wanted to visit the office, talk to staff and review records. Phone calls to people were completed on 10 January 2017.

The service provides personal care and support to people who live in their homes in and around the Shirebrook area of Derbyshire. At the time of this inspection 35 people received support from the agency, 28 of those people received support with their personal care needs.

The service is required to have a registered manager. 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.

The service could not demonstrate all the required pre-employment checks had been completed on staff employed at the service.

The service could not always demonstrate an accurate and complete record of medicines administered for people. In addition, not all audits designed to monitor the quality and safety of services were effective.

The provider did have a policy in place on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 however the service had provided restrictive care to a person without demonstrating the principles of the MCA had been followed.

There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs. Staff were organised to ensure people who required the support of two staff received this support and staff were organised to cover specific geographical areas.

People felt safe with the support they received from the service. Staff had been trained and understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people.

Risks in people’s homes were identified and assessed. We identified where risks to one person were known about by staff, however these had not been recorded in a risks assessment. The registered manager sent a completed risk assessment through shortly after our inspection. Procedures were in place for the reporting and investigation of accidents.

People commented that infection prevention and control practices had been improving. We saw this was an area monitored by the registered manager and senior staff to ensure staff practice continued to meet standards.

Staff had maintained up to date skills and knowledge in areas relevant to people’s care and support, including safeguarding people and assisting people to mobilise safely.

Staff understood how to support people with their nutrition and hydration needs. Staff provided care and support to help people with their meals and drink in a way that met their known preferences.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff and had regular contact with them.

Staff were mindful of people’s healthcare needs and supported people to access other healthcare provision when required.

People were cared for by staff who were caring. Staff knew the people they supported and provided regular support to people. Staff promoted people’s dignity and privacy. People were involved in planning and reviews of their care and support.

People knew how to raise any worries or concerns. People received personalised and responsive care and their views and preferences were respected.

The service promoted an open and inclusive culture. The registered manager demonstrated and open and inclusive style of leadership.

We found three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 at this inspection. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the end of the full version of this report.

This inspection took place on 10 December 2014 and was announced.

Shirebrook Miners Welfare Charity Centre ILS provides a domiciliary care service to mainly older people living in their own homes in Shirebrook and the surrounding villages. At the time of this inspection there were 63 people using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At the last inspection on 11 February 2014, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in relation to how people’s needs were assessed, the management of medicines, how people’s consent was sought and safe recruitment procedures. At this inspection we found that action had been taken and improvements had been made.

People were safe using the service and staff knew what to do if they had any concerns about their welfare. Records showed staff had thought about people’s safety and how to reduce risk. They also knew how to protect people under the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA and DoLS).

Staff were safely recruited with robust checks carried out to ensure they had the right background and were suitable to work in care. People said they were happy with the competence and skills of the staff. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and had a good understanding of how best to meet their needs.

People who needed assistance at meal times were encouraged to choose what they ate. Staff were aware of people’s healthcare needs and alerted health care professionals if they had any concerns about their well-being.

People got on well with the staff who involved them in decisions about their care. People were consulted about whether they wanted male or female carers and any other social or cultural needs they might have. Where appropriate, relatives were also involved in decisions about their family member’s care. Staff offered people choice, treated them with dignity and respect, and promoted their privacy.

The care provided was personalised and responsive to people’s needs. Plans of care helped ensure staff knew how to provide care in the way people wanted it. They were flexible so people could change their minds about their care on the day if they wanted to. Some plans of care lacked detail about people’s mental health needs and the registered manager was addressing this.

People told us they rarely if ever had to complain, but if they did they were listened to and improvements were made. Records showed that when the agency received a complaint staff took swift action to address it and to make any changes necessary.

The agency was well-run and provided a good service. Staff told us that they were well-supported and enjoyed their work. People had confidence in the registered manager who had made a series of improvements to the agency. The people who used the service and their relatives had the opportunity to comment on the care they received both in person and through regular surveys.

People were involved in making decisions and had given verbal consent in relation to the care and support they received. However, there was a lack of written information to explain people's individual communication needs and the arrangements intended to protect people who lacked the mental capacity to make their own decisions were unreliable.

People were satisfied with the support they received and felt their needs were being met. However, the provider had not properly assessed peoples' individual needs and risk assessments had not been used to help keep people safe from the risk of harm.

People were not properly supported with their medicines. Assessments had not been completed to identify the support people required with medicines and staff had not participated in regular training in relation to the safe handling of medicines.

The provider had not carried out appropriate checks to make sure that staff were of good character and had suitable qualifications, skills and experience for their role.

There were arrangements in place to help capture the views of people who used the service and to monitor the quality of service delivered by staff.

We met with one of the trustees of the charity and the manager at the service's main office in Shirebrook. The service was being provided to 53 service users at the time of our visit. One person told us they had changed their relative's care provider and were now 'over the moon' with the care being provided. The carers we spoke to were all happy with the service. Service users we spoke to were happy with the service in the main although some expressed minor concerns about their care. It was not possible to directly observe care being provided during the inspection.

There was a minor concern about the lack of incident identification and recording despite there being an incident policy and procedure.

You can see our judgements on the front page of this report.

Archived: Shirebrook Miners Welfare Charity Centre ILS

All Inspections

6 January 2017

During a routine inspection

10 December 2014

During a routine inspection

11 February 2014

During a routine inspection

10 January 2013

During a routine inspection