Background to this inspection
Updated
27 May 2021
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 was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Right at Home Barnet and Edgware 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 CQC. 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
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 29 April 2021 and ended on 4 May 2021. We visited the office location on 29 April 2021.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection we looked at information we held about the service. This information included the last inspection report, feedback we had received about the service and any statutory notifications that the provider had sent to the CQC. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. This information helps support our inspections.
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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the managing director/registered manager, deputy manager, training and office manager, coordinator, recruiter, and the quality and compliance manager. We reviewed a range of records which related to people's individual care and the running of the service. These records included five people's care files, six staff records, policies, medicine administration records and a range of records relating to the management and quality monitoring of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. The registered manager provided us with staff training records, quality assurance audits, one care plan, minutes of staff meetings and other documentation to do with the management and running of the care agency.
We spoke with two people using the service, ten relatives and received verbal or written feedback from eight care staff. Three social care professionals provided us with some feedback about their contact with the agency.
Updated
27 May 2021
About the service
Right at Home Barnet and Edgware is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults, some of whom live with dementia and/or may have a sensory impairment or physical disability. It is a franchisee of Right at Home UK.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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 the inspection there were thirteen people receiving assistance with their personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse and to make sure people were treated with respect and dignity.
People told us that they were treated well by staff and felt safe when receiving care and support. They had the office contact details and were confident that any concerns they raised would be dealt with appropriately and quickly.
Risks to people's safety were assessed and personalised guidance minimised the risk of people being harmed.
People and relatives told us that there had been no issues with punctuality or missed care calls.
People made decisions about their care. Their care plans were up to date and personalised.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
The registered manager and other staff supported people to access healthcare services. They worked well with healthcare and social care professionals to provide people with effective care and support.
Staff participated in the regular COVID-19 testing and vaccination programme.
There were quality assurance systems in place to identify and address any shortfalls and to make improvements to the service.
People and their relatives were provided with a range of opportunities to feedback about their experience of the service.
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 12 June 2018).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to medicines, infection control, staff training, and management. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key question. We therefore did not inspect these. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service remains good. 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 Right at Home Barnet and Edgware 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.