Archived: Heathley Care Services Limited

Updated 18 January 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 14 November 2017. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a personal care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Our expert for this inspection had experience of the care of older people.

We looked at the information we held about the service, which included ‘notifications’. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider must tell us about.

We also reviewed the provider’s statement of purpose. A statement of purpose is a document which includes the services aims and objectives.

We contacted commissioners for health and social care, responsible for funding some of the people who used the service and asked them for their views about the agency. No concerns were expressed about the current provision of personal care to people using the service.

During the inspection we spoke with three people who used the service and four relatives. We also spoke with the provider, the area manager, the registered manager, and three care workers.

We looked in detail at the care and support provided to four people who used the service, including their care records, audits on the running of the service, staff training, staff recruitment records and medicine administration records.

Updated 18 January 2018

This was the first inspection of the service. The inspection visit was on 14 November 2017.

Heathley Care Services provides personal care and treatment for people living in their own homes. On the day of the inspection the registered manager informed us that there were a total of seven7 people receiving personal care from the service.

We found breaches of regulations in this inspection. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Staff recruitment checks had not always been completed to protect people from receiving personal care from unsuitable staff. Risk assessments were not always in place to protect people from risks to their health and welfare.

Management had not carried out comprehensive audits in order to check that the service was meeting people's needs and to ensure people were provided with a quality service.

A registered manager was in place at the time of the inspection visit. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People did not report that they had any issues about staff infection control practices. Staff had been trained in infection control procedures to ensure their safety from infection.

People and relatives we spoke with told us they thought the service ensured that people received safe personal care from staff. Staff had been trained in safeguarding (protecting people from abuse) and understood their responsibilities in this area. Staffing numbers were sufficient to ensure that people received calls supplying personal care to them.

We saw that medicines had been supplied safely and on time, to protect people’s health needs.

Staff had received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people's needs, however, though more training was needed on people’s individual health conditions. People’s needs had been assessed so that staff could supply personal care to meet their individual needs. The service worked with other agencies to deliver effective care to people.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Staff were aware to ask people’s consent when they provided personal care.

People and relatives we spoke with all told us that staff were friendly, kind, positive and caring. People told us they had been involved in making decisions about how and what personal care was needed to meet any identified needs.

Care plans were individual to the people using the service. This helped to ensure that their needs were met.

People and relatives told us they would tell staff or management if they had any concerns, and they were confident these would be properly followed up.

They were satisfied with how the service was run.

Staff said they had been fully supported in their work by the registered manager.

Policies set out that when a safeguarding incident occurred management needed to take appropriate action by referring to the relevant safeguarding agency. The registered manager was aware that these incidents, if they occurred, needed to be reported to The Care Quality Commission (CQC) us, as legally required.

This is the first time the service has been rated Requires Improvement.