Background to this inspection
Updated
27 August 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
This inspection was carried out by three inspectors. Two inspectors carried out a site visit and a third inspector spoke with staff and people who used the service, over the telephone.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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 15 July 2020 and ended on 17 July 2020. We visited the office location on 15 July 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider, registered manager, and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and three people’s rotas. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including, infection control procedures and safeguarding records were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance records and information sent to us by the provider, in response to the findings of the site visit. We also contacted a health and social care professional who works with the service for additional feedback.
Updated
27 August 2020
About the service
Oswestry is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 33 people at the time of the inspection. The service supported people from the local area and had an office in the main town centre.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were protected from the risk of harm although not all incidents were being reported to the office in a timely manner. The registered manager reviewed the process in place to ensure all staff know what to report and when.
Risks to people’s safety were assessed, including people’s home environment. We highlighted some areas where further assessment was required. For example, with certain health conditions. There was sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and no reports of missed or late calls. Some people told us they would like a more consistent staff team.
People received their medicine safely. Staff had received training in safe administration and their practice was reviewed during spot checks. People were protected from the risk of infection and plans were in place to mitigate the increased risks from the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities. However, at the time of inspection we found the systems in place did not always enable them to have clear oversight of everything that was happening in the service. Staff felt they delivered a quality service to people and most people we spoke with told us they would recommend the service to others.
The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals..
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 01 June 2018).
Why we inspected
We had received a number of reports which suggested safeguarding concerns had not been adequately investigated and the processes required to keep people safe were not always robust. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We have found no evidence that anyone was at risk of harm. However, the overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oswestry on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.