23 May 2017
During a routine inspection
At our last inspection completed on 18,19 and 24 October 2016 the provider was operating this service from an address that did not form part of their registration with CQC. We found the provider was in breach of the condition of their registration around the address at which they were operating the service from. Since this inspection the provider had ensured they had made the required amendments to their registration. As a result, this location was registered in January 2017. This inspection was the first inspection since these changes to their registration were made.
At the October 2016 inspection we asked the provider to make improvements to the service they provided to people. You can read our findings in full in the inspection report published at www.cqc.org.uk. At this inspection we found significant improvements had been made although further improvements were still required.
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.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of care staff who had been recruited safely. People’s safety and well-being could at times be put at risk due to care visits not taking place at the correct time. People were happy with the support they received with their medicines although the management team could not always confirm if people had received their medicines as prescribed.
People were protected by a staff team who could describe the signs of potential abuse and knew how to report any concerns about people. Staff understood how to protect people from the risk of harm due to accidents and injury.
People were supported by care staff who received regular training and support. People who had mental capacity were supported to consent to their care. Improvements were needed to ensure the rights of people who lacked capacity were upheld in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
People’s day to day health was mostly maintained by care staff and support was sought from relevant health and social care professionals. We found people’s food and fluid intake was not always sufficiently monitored where they required support in this area which exposed them to the risk of harm.
People were supported by a care team who were kind and caring in their approach. People were encouraged to make choices about the care they received. People’s dignity was upheld and they were treated with respect. People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible.
People had not always received their care visits at a time that met their needs and preferences. People were happy with the support they received from care staff when they were present but remained unhappy with the timings of their calls. People’s care plans were reviewed and updated as required.
People’s formal complaints were recorded and investigated appropriately. However, we saw informal complaints were not always recorded and people felt these were not always addressed sufficiently.
People felt improvements had been made in the service and management team in the months leading up to our inspection. People were cared for by a staff team who felt supported by management. People were experiencing an improvement in the service due to actions taken by management. However, we found quality assurance systems still needed some further development to ensure all areas of risk and improvement required were identified and addressed.
We found the provider was not meeting the regulations around the effective management of the service. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.