Updated 3 November 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 was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they will be 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 72 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was due to issues around COVID-19, we needed the service to prepare in advance for the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 29th September 2020 and ended on 5th October 2020. We visited the office location on 29th September 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.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We had contact with two people who used the service and a relative. This was to ask them about their experiences of the support they received. All contact with those who used the service was done remotely in light of the current Covid 19 pandemic. We spoke to managerial staff on-site which included the registered manager, human resources manager and care manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records, risk assessments, medication records and other care-related documents. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We had subsequent contact with four staff members who outlined their experiences. We spoke with one professional who had responsibility for commissioning local services.