We carried out a review of the data available to us about Home Support Services on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Home Support Services, you can give feedback on this service.
Home Support Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people and younger
adults in their own homes across Derby and surrounding areas. This included people with physical
disabilities and mental health. 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. At the time of this inspection 89 people using the service received personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Care records were not always clear regarding how people were being supported. Systems were in place to manage risk. However, where risks were identified individual risk assessments were not always in place. There were processes in place for people to raise complaints and express their views and opinions about the service provided. However, the complaints records did not show if these had been resolved to the person’s satisfaction.
People told us they felt safe with the care and support they received from staff. Staffing levels were determined by people’s needs. However, two staff members felt at the weekend staffing levels were stretched as staff worked alternate weekends.
People were happy with the staff who supported them and felt safe when staff visited. Staff understood their responsibility in protecting people from the risk of harm. Safeguarding referrals were made appropriately.
Recruitment practices ensured relevant checks had been completed before staff commenced employment at the service. Staff told us they had received training and an induction that had helped them to understand and support people.
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 and relatives felt staff were respectful and caring. Relatives stated staff communicated well with their family members, which helped develop positive relationships.
The provider had systems to monitor the quality of the service provided to drive improvement.
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 11 April 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.
We undertook this focused inspection to check that the provider had made improvements to their management systems. This report only covers our findings relating to well-led. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Home Support Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Home Support Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people and younger adults in their own homes across Derby and surrounding areas. This included people with physical disabilities and mental health. The agency is located close to Derby city centre. There were 76 people in receipt of personal care at the time of our inspection.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
Quality monitoring arrangements were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service, so that actions could be put in place to drive improvement.
Recruitment procedures had improved since our last inspection. We saw that staff had had the required pre-employment checks in place prior to commencing employment with the provider. This ensured that suitable staff were employed to work with people who used the service.
Staff knew about people's individual capacity and understood how to ensure people consented to the support they received if they lacked capacity. The provider had rolled out some training around consent since the last inspection.
People were pleased with the service they received and told us that they were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the service they received.
This was the first inspection since the provider’s registration at this office location on 4 November 2016.
Home Support Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people and younger adults in their own homes across Derby and surrounding areas. This included people with physical disabilities and mental health. The agency is located close to Derby city centre. There were 85 people in receipt of personal care at the time of our inspection.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
We found that the provider’s quality assurance systems had not picked up the issues we identified at this inspection visit. This demonstrated that the management systems were not always effective in recognising areas which required improvements.
People told us they felt safe with the care provided by staff. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibility in protecting people from the risk of harm. Staff told us they had received training and an induction that had helped them to understand and support people. Recruitment procedures were not always thorough to; ensure suitable staff were employed to work with people who used the service.
Staff knew about people’s individual capacity; however they did not have a clear understanding of how to ensure a person consented to the support they received if they lacked capacity
Risk assessments and care plans had been developed with the involvement of people. Staff had the relevant information on how to minimise identified risks to ensure people were supported in a safe way. People received their medicines as prescribed and safe systems were in place to manage people’s medicines.
People received appropriate support to manage their dietary needs. This was done in a way that met with their needs and choices. People were referred to health professionals when required to maintain their health and wellbeing.
People told us staff treated them in a caring way and respected their privacy. Staff supported people to maintain their dignity. The delivery of care was tailored to meet people’s individual needs and preferences.
The provider’s complaints policy and procedure were accessible to people who used the service and their representatives. People knew how to make a complaint. There were processes in place for people and their relatives to express their views and opinions about the service provided. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to enable the manager and provider to drive improvement. Staff felt supported by the management team.