Archived: Guinness Care At Home Cornwall

Guinness Care At Home Cornwall is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes in the community. When we inspected the service was providing the regulated activity, personal care, to approximately 30 people in St Austell, Wadebridge, Padstow and Bodmin areas in Cornwall.

People’s experience of using this service:

People using the service all told us they felt safe and staff treated them in a caring and respectful manner. Comments included, “I feel safe because you can ask them to do anything”, “They always ask me if I am managing ok" and “All the staff are very polite, which is important.”

The service had recently been short staffed. People and staff told us staffing levels were improving and more staff were still being recruited. This period of staff shortages had impacted on the rotas and resulted in some people receiving an inconsistent service. However, people told us the reliability of the service was improving.

People told us they were given a list each week detailing the times of their visits and the names of the staff booked. People told us if the staff or times altered they were mostly informed of these changes.

Some people told us they did not always have consistent staff. However, they were happy with all the staff who provided care for them and new staff were introduced to them before they worked on their own. People said staff always stayed for the full time of the visit and were competent in their roles.

Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. Care plans were personalised to the individual and recorded details about each person’s specific needs and wishes. These were kept under regular review and updated as people’s needs changed.

People were supported to access healthcare services, staff recognised changes in people's health, and sought professional advice appropriately.

Staff were recruited safely and they received regular supervision and support from management. New staff completed an induction which involved training and a period of shadowing more experienced staff. Training was regularly updated so staff were aware of 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 said the management of the service had not always been reliable. However, all reported that they felt the running of the service and the rotas were improving. 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.

Rating at last inspection: Good. Report published on 1 December 2016.

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.

The full details can be found on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Home Care Cornwall (part of the Guinness Care and Support group) is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people in their own homes. The service provides help to people with physical disabilities and dementia care needs in St. Austell and surrounding areas. 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.

At the time of our inspection 52 people were receiving a personal care service. The services were funded either privately or through Cornwall Council or NHS funding.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. 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 time of the inspection the service employed, a registered manager, a team manager, two senior enablers, 23 enablers and an administrator. The registered manager told us Guinness Care and Support used the job title enabler because it underlined the importance of enabling people who use the service to be as independent as possible. We found that people referred to staff as care staff rather than enablers. For this reason we have referred to enablers as care staff and senior enablers as senior care staff throughout our report.

People received care and support from care staff they felt safe with. People were safe because care staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep them safe from harm. Care staff knew how to raise any safeguarding concerns. Risks were assessed and individual plans put in place to protect people from harm. There were enough skilled and experienced care staff to meet people’s needs.

The provider carried out employment checks on care staff before they worked with people to assess their suitability. The service was effective because staff had been trained to meet people’s needs. Staff received supervision and appraisal aimed at improving the care and support they provided. People were supported to maintain their independence. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in supporting people to make their own choices and decisions.

People received a caring and compassionate service. Care staff took time to listen and talk to people, they were described as “absolutely wonderful” and “They are just so kind and genuinely really care. They take the time to get to know what is important to me and they remember events such as birthdays and what special things are going on in my family”. A relative of a person who received a service told us, “I’ve got nothing but admiration for the girls. It is a vocation for them. They really do care and they make so much difference to my [realtive’s] quality of life.”

People were involved in planning the care and support they received. Staff protected people’s confidentiality and need for privacy.

The service responded to people’s needs and the care and support provided was personalised. Staff providing care and support were familiar to people and knew them well. The provider encouraged people to provide reguar feedback on the service received. Results from the 2016 survey demonstrated over 95% customer satisfaction. The service made changes in response to people’s views and opinions.

People received a service that was well-led because the registered manager and other senior staff provided good leadership and management. The vision and values of the service were communicated and understood by staff.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. The quality of service people received was continually monitored and any areas needing improvement identified and addressed. Staff commented positively about the service, “I find them a great company to work for, I wake up every day and look forward to coming to work. I find our team very good at listening and that they are always open to new ideas” and “I feel fully supported and I am very pleased to be part of the Guinness team and very proud to work for the Guinness trust. I would not hesitate to recommend working as part of this team.”