12 March 2018
During a routine inspection
This was the first time the service had been inspected.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger adults and people living with a dementia.
Not everyone using South Thornaby Community Resource Centre receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
The service had a manager in place. They had submitted an application to become registered manager and that process was underway at the time of our inspection. 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.
People, and their relatives, told us they were happy with the care they received and believed it was a safe service.
The management team ensured there were enough staff to safely meet people’s needs. Staff rotas were planned in advance and sent to people on a weekly basis so they knew which staff would be visiting them. Wherever possible people had regular staff who visited and they were informed if staff were running late. Staff had received safeguarding training and were clear about how to recognise and report abuse.
Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included any environmental risks in people’s homes and any risks in relation to the care and support needs of the person.
People who needed help taking their medicines were appropriately supported by staff however records were not always completed accurately.
The provider ensured appropriate checks had been completed before staff were employed to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.
Training records showed staff had been provided with all the necessary training and this was scheduled to be refreshed regularly. Staff told us they were happy with the training they had received. Staff completed a thorough induction programme prior to providing people's care. The induction of new members of staff included work shadowing and complied with the requirements of the Care Certificate.
Staff told us they enjoyed their work and were well supported through supervision and appraisals. In addition ‘spot checks’ by management were completed regularly to help ensure each member of staff was providing appropriate standards of care and support.
The service was working within the principles of the MCA. Staff had received training in this area and we saw evidence of best interest decisions being made and recorded in people’s care plans.
Staff treated people respectfully and asked for consent before delivering care.
Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for. They were aware of people’s preferences and interests, as well as their health and support needs, which enabled them to provide a personalised service. However, this information was not always captured within care plan documents. There were documents within people’s care plans that had not been fully or accurately completed.
The provider was working to reduce social isolation and loneliness amongst people using the service. They promoted local activities and held events at their premises.
People had details of how to raise a complaint and told us they would be happy to make a complaint if they needed to. Any complaints received were handled in line with the provider’s policy.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and to seek people's views about the service. The management welcomed feedback and used the results of surveys and any complaints to drive improvement. However the audits being undertaken had not picked up the issues that we had identified during the course of the inspection.