Background to this inspection
Updated
21 September 2017
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 was undertaken by one inspector, took place on 23 and 24 August 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and the registered manager and staff are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
Before the inspection we looked at information we hold about the service. This included information from notifications the provider sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.
Prior to the inspection we made contact with the local authorities who commission people’s care, including social workers. This was to help with the planning of the inspection and to gain their views about how people’s care was being provided.
We spoke with one person and two relatives by telephone. We also spoke with a representative of the provider and the registered manager as well as three care staff.
We looked at three people’s care records, medicines administration records and records in relation to the management of staff and the service.
Updated
21 September 2017
This comprehensive inspection took place on 23 and 24 August 2017 and was announced.
My Homecare Bedford is a domiciliary care service that provides a personal care service to people living in their own home. At the time of our inspection 3 people were using the service. The service’s office is located in a large office complex on the outskirts of Bedford.
A registered manager had been in post since registering the service in 2016. 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 registered manager was present during this inspection.
Staff who had received training about keeping people safe from harm were able to put this knowledge to good effect. Staff knew who they could report any incidents of harm to as well as describing the signs and symptoms should they identify or suspect that harm had occurred. People were assured that any incident of harm would be reported and investigated appropriately. Actions were taken to prevent the potential incidents reoccurring.
Risk assessments were in place to support people with their safety and helped reduce the likelihood of harm to people.
Medicines were administered and managed safely by trained staff whose competency had been assessed. Action had been taken to ensure that the recording of administered medicines was in line with current guidance for the safe management of people’s medicines.
A sufficient number of staff with the necessary skills, qualifications and attitude had been recruited. Staff had the training and support they needed and were able to meet people’s assessed needs.
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. The registered manager was aware of what they were required to do should any person lack mental capacity. No one using the service needed to be lawfully deprived of their liberty.
Staff possessed the necessary care skills to identify and support people with their nutritional needs. Staff enabled people to access health care support from external healthcare professionals when required.
People were looked after by staff who provided them with kindness, compassion and respect for their privacy and dignity.
People, their legal representative or relatives were enabled to be involved in identifying, determining and planning the review of their care.
People were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be where this was safe. People were supported in such a way that helped reduce the potential risk of social isolation. Staff with the right skills were matched as far as possible with the people they cared for such as people living with dementia.
An effective system was in place to gather and act upon people’s suggestions and concerns before they became a complaint.
The registered manager was supported by representatives of the provider as well as other registered managers within the My Homecare franchise. Staff had the support mechanisms in place that they needed to fulfil their role effectively.
The registered manager and provider ensured that the appropriate authorities were informed about important events that, by law, they are required to do. People, their relatives and staff were involved and enabled to make suggestions to improve how the service was run. Quality monitoring, audit and assurance processes that were in place were effective. This helped drive continuous improvements in the standard of care that people received.