16 October 2017
During a routine inspection
This was the first inspection of this service following registration with us. Before providers are registered, part of our registration process is to check those providing care, are of suitable character and have effective systems and processes to provide people with a service that meets their needs. At this inspection visit we found improvements were needed to their quality assurance systems and how they retained important information that supported their regulatory responsibilities.
One of the owners was the 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.
The owners knew how to keep the person they supported safe. There were processes to minimise risks to the person's and staff safety. They understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse and how to report any concerns.
We found the systems and processes for staff recruitment required further improvements. There was insufficient information for us to check their recruitment process was complete and followed their regulatory responsibilities. Records for themselves were not readily available for us to check.
Training was provided by an external contractor. However neither of the owners had completed training with them, so they were unable to assess the quality of the training, even though they expected their staff (when recruited) to be trained with them. We were unable to see the effectiveness of this training. Both owners had been trained through separate businesses that they worked for. There were no available records that showed what training each owner had completed or when refresher training was planned or completed to show they continued to have up to date knowledge and skills to provide care to people.
The owners understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the person's consent was sought prior to any care being provided.
There were enough staff to support the person and plans were in place to support extra care packages.
The owners knew the person well and knew how to respond to the person's needs. Care plans and risk assessments contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the care people required. Copies of care plans were available in people’s homes for staff to refer to.
No complaints had been raised with the owners.
Systems to monitor and review the quality of service people received required further improvement. This was to ensure when additional people used the service, supported by more staff, the owner’s quality assurance would identify improvements and demonstrate actions were taken.