Background to this inspection
Updated
23 April 2021
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.
This was a targeted inspection on a specific concern we had about the management of medicines.
Inspection Team
The inspection was carried out by two inspector and supported by a medicine inspector.
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, who is also the nominated individual. This means that they and 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity began on 22 March 2021, and, ended on date 23 March 2021. We visited the office location on 22 March 2021.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports and any notifications of significant incidents the provider had sent us. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We reviewed a range of records such as accidents and incidents records, medicine training and assessment records and the medicine policy. We looked at two people’s care plans relating to medicines and Medicine Administration Records (MAR) charts.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found, such as actions plans. We spoke with three care staff who supported people with medicines. We spoke with two people who used the service. We also looked a telephone monitoring survey.
Updated
23 April 2021
About the service
Chosen Services UK Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats. The service provided support to children, younger adults and older people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health needs and sensory impairment. 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. At the time of the inspection 12 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People using the service and their relatives had no concerns about safety. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risk assessments were completed to identify and manage risks to keep people safe. Staff were trained to support people to take their medicines. Measures were in place to protect people from the spread of infection. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure staff were suitable to support people. There were procedures in place for responding to accidents and incidents.
The service carried out an initial assessment of people’s needs prior to the provision of care and support to ensure their needs could be met by the service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff supported people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs. The service worked with other agencies to promote people’s health, safety and well-being. Staff received training and support to ensure they were competent to carry out their role.
People received care and support from staff who were caring and compassionate. People described staff as, “Kind and friendly.” Staff treated people in a respectful manner maintaining their dignity and encouraging independence. Systems were in place to protect people’s right to confidentiality. The service was respectful of people’s equality and diversity.
Care plans were person centred, included the individual needs of people, and were reviewed to reflect people’s changing needs. People were supported to pursue their interests and hobbies. Information was available in accessible formats where people required this. Complaints procedures were in place and people using the service and their relatives were confident their concerns would be taken seriously and would be addressed.
People using the service, their relatives and staff, felt the service was well managed. There was an open and transparent culture. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the running of the service and the effectiveness of systems in place. Feedback was welcomed to ensure continuous improvement of 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 requires improvement (published 13 March 2019) and there were three breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.