Archived: Mears Care - Rossendale

Updated 21 September 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 16 and 17 August 2017. We contacted the service two days before the visit to let them know we were inspecting. We did this because they provide a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available for the inspection. The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service, including notifications and previous inspection reports. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted the local authority contract monitoring team and a commissioning manager. Prior to the inspection we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during the inspection.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. During the inspection, we spoke with 10 people who used the service and two relatives. We also talked with six care workers, the registered manager, a senior care worker, a care coordinator, the quality care manager and the recruitment officer. We looked at a sample of records, including five care plans and other related documentation, three staff recruitment records, policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

Updated 21 September 2017

We carried out an inspection of Mears Care Rossendale on 16 and 17 August 2017.

Mears Care Rossendale is part of Mears Care Ltd and provides domiciliary care services to people in east Lancashire. The agency office is located in Haslingden. The service provides care and support for people who live independently in the community. At the time of the inspection 102 adults were using the service for personal care and/or domestic support.

The service was managed by 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.

At our last inspection on 29 and 30 June 2016 we found the service to be in breach of four regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These related to a lack of systems and processes in place to effectively investigate and document any allegation of abuse. Not having effective systems for receiving and acting on complaints, not following the provider policy in relation to providing an adequate amount of supervision meetings for all staff and not operating established and effective quality assurance and audit systems to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided. The service received a rating of Requires Improvement. Following the inspection we received an action plan form the provider indicating how and when they would meet the relevant legal requirements. At this inspection we found sufficient improvements had been made on these matters.

During this inspection we found the provider was in breach of one regulation of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The breach related to a lack of robust recruitment procedures prior to staff working at the service. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We found there were management and leadership arrangements in place to promote an efficient day to day running of the service. However there had previously been changes in management and the service had been without a registered manager for over two years. Therefore management and leadership arrangements needed embedding to achieve ongoing continuity and progress.

There were processes to monitor and develop the services provided, in consultation with the people who used them.

Staff were aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and they knew what to do if they had any concerns. Staff said they had received training on safeguarding and protection.

Arrangements were in place to maintain staffing levels to make sure people received their agreed care and support. There were systems in place to ensure all staff received initial training, ongoing development, supervision and support.

People made positive comments about the staff team including their friendly approach, listening skills and respectful manners. Staff expressed a practical awareness of responding to people as individuals and promoting their rights, privacy and choices.

People told us they had agreed to the support and care provided by the service. We found records were kept of people’s consent /agreement to their care and support package. Arrangements were in place to gather information on people’s backgrounds, their needs and abilities, before they used the service. People were aware of their care plans and said they had been fully involved with them and the ongoing reviews.

Processes were in place to monitor and respond to people’s health care needs. All the staff we spoke with described the action they would take if someone was not well, or if they needed medical attention. Where appropriate people were supported with eating and drinking.

We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA (Mental Capacity Act 2005).

There were effective complaints processes in place. There was a formal system to manage, investigate and respond to people’s complaints and concerns.