Archived: Brookes Homecare Services

Updated 13 May 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Brookes Homecare Services is a 'domiciliary care service' where people receive care and support in their own homes. Therefore, the CQC only regulates the care provided to people and not the premises they live in. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 27 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person and six relatives to help us understand the experience of people who could not speak with us. We spoke with seven staff members, including the registered manager, care coordinator and five care workers. We reviewed seven care records of people using the service, seven personnel files of care workers and records related to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received information relating to the provider’s governance systems and some care records.

Updated 13 May 2020

About the service

Brookes Homecare Services is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 51 people using the service. Everyone using the service lived within the London Boroughs of Harrow, Brent and Lambeth Council.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

People were safe and protected from avoidable harm. Care workers had received training and they knew how to identify and report concerns. There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. These had been kept under review to ensure people's safety and wellbeing were monitored and managed appropriately. Care workers had been recruited using appropriate checks and thorough assessments. There were systems in place to ensure proper and safe use of medicines. People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service had processes in place to reduce the risk of infection and cross contamination.

Care workers had received regular training and support, so they could carry out their roles effectively. They had also received an induction before they could provide care and support to people. People’s care was tailored to their needs. There were arrangements to ensure people's nutritional needs were met. People had access to healthcare services. The service worked with a range of health and social care professionals.

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. When people were unable to make decisions about their care and support, the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were followed.

People's privacy and dignity was respected. Care plans described how people should be supported so that their privacy and dignity were upheld. Individual care plans considered people's values, beliefs, and wishes. This meant there were established ways of working which were person centred and not discriminatory. Confidential information, such as care records were only accessed by staff authorised to view it.

People received person centred care. Their assessments showed they had been involved in the assessment process. Care workers were knowledgeable about people’s needs and they could describe to us how people liked to be supported. There was a complaints procedure in place, which people’s relatives were aware of.

Quality assurance processes such as audits and spot checks were used to drive improvements. However. even though, incidents were appropriately escalated and investigated, the results were not widely shared with staff to raise awareness. The registered manager told us improvements were going to be made in relation to this.

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 16 May 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.