Background to this inspection
Updated
6 August 2019
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 houses, flats and specialist housing.
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. The registered manager was also the provider.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 17 July 2019 and ended on 22 July 2019. We visited the office location on the 17 July 2019 and made phone calls to people and relatives on 19 July 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 10 people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, a care co-ordinator and three home care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at three 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 reviewed.
After the inspection
We contacted five healthcare professionals and Healthwatch Wiltshire for their feedback about the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
Updated
6 August 2019
About the service
Care Matters (Wiltshire) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes in Warminster and surrounding areas. 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. At the time of inspection 48 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were being supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. People told us the staff were reliable and the service had never missed a visit. The registered manager told us they only accepted care packages they knew they could deliver. People told us they felt safe when receiving their care and support. Risks were identified and assessed, the management regularly reviewed risk assessments.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported by staff who were trained and supported in their roles. Staff helped people access healthcare services where needed and worked with healthcare professionals to provide effective care. If people required help with meals this was recorded in their care plans.
People were being supported by staff who were kind and caring. One person told us, “The staff help me keep going, cheer me up when I am down and give me a cuddle, they are wonderful. I don’t know what I would do without them, they all have empathy and compassion.” People told us staff helped them to maintain their independence by involving them in their care and encouraging them to maintain their skills. People appreciated having a weekly rota which informed them what staff would be visiting and when. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted by staff and records were kept secure.
People’s needs had been assessed and recorded in a care and support plan which was reviewed regularly. Care and support plans were kept in people’s homes, so they could access them at any time. Communication needs were high-lighted, assessed and recorded in care plans so staff knew how to communicate with people. Where people had requested or been assessed as needing help with social needs this was provided. People told us they had help to go shopping, visit local places of interest or go out for meals which they enjoyed.
People, relatives and staff told us the service was well-led. There was an open and positive culture at the service which was appreciated by all. The registered manager was visible and approachable. People told us they saw management regularly, staff told us they could approach management at any time. Quality monitoring was in place and complaints managed appropriately. The service worked in partnership with other professionals and had good community links.
We have made one recommendation about the development of quality monitoring.
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 (report published 31 January 2017).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection schedule. If we receive any information of concern, we may inspect sooner.