Background to this inspection
Updated
9 April 2020
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. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. A manager had been recruited and was due to start work shortly. During this period the nominated individual was overseeing the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. The service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager 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. This was because we needed people and their families to consent to us contacting them. It is a small service and we needed to be sure that staff would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 6 March 2020 and ended on 9 March 2020. We visited the office location on 9 March 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
People were not able to share their experience of the service with us verbally. We spoke with one person who used the service and observed their interaction with the staff member supporting them. We spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the nominated individual, team leaders, and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and some medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We spoke with two professionals who regularly visit the service.
Updated
9 April 2020
About the service
Chailey Heritage Pathways is a domiciliary care agency providing support to five people. Personal care was provided to three young people living with complex and multiple disabilities at the time of the inspection.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported safely by a staff team who understood how to identify and report any concerns about people’s safety or wellbeing. Risks were recognised and assessed. There were enough staff available to support people as planned. However, some people wanted more care visits to be provided by the service and staff recruitment was taking place to be able to provide these. Medicines were managed safely. Infection prevention and control was well managed. When things went wrong, lessons were learnt and ways to reduce the risk of reoccurrence were implemented.
People’s needs and choices were assessed before they started using the service. Staff worked with people, their families and other professionals to understand people’s needs. Staff were supported with induction, training and supervision to ensure they had the right skills to support people. People were supported to live healthy lives.
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.
People were treated with kindness and care. People were supported to make decisions about their day to day care and support. People’s independence was promoted. People’s privacy and dignity was respected.
People were supported by staff who knew them well and had shared interests. Care plans were regularly reviewed to ensure they received the right support. People were supported to follow their interests and their communication needs were assessed and understood by staff. Complaints were well managed.
The service had a positive and person-centred culture. Staff were proud to work there. Staff felt well supported by the nominated individual and their colleagues. A quality assurance framework supported the continuous improvement of the service. People’s families were engaged with for feedback and action was taken to improve the service. Staff worked in partnership with other professionals.
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 (published 21 September 2017).
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.