Updated 13 September 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.
JW Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service covers a wide range of dependency needs including adults, people with a learning disability, people with mental health problems and younger adults.
JW Homecare also provides care and support to people living in six supported living settings so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 09 August and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service to people who lived in the community. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises.
The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.
Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who lived at the home and previous inspection reports. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the services had been received.
We contacted the commissioning department at Lancashire County Council. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.
As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. In addition, we completed our planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service.
During the inspection visit we spoke with a range of people about the service. They included three people supported in the community and three people living in two supported living houses. We also talked with two relatives of people who used the service. In addition, we visited the office base at JW Homecare and spoke with the registered manager/owner, area manager and a senior carer. Also, we spoke with four staff supporting people in the community and supported living homes.
We looked at the care records of two people, recruitment and supervision records of staff members, the training matrix and records relating to the management of the service.