Background to this inspection
Updated
29 November 2022
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 and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
Right at Home Tyneside is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there wasn’t a registered manager in post, but the manager had begun the process of applying to register with CQC.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave a short period of notice of the inspection because we needed to ensure the manager was available and to contact people to gather their feedback.
Inspection activity started on 31 October 2022 and ended on 2 November 2022. We visited the office location on 2 November 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We also sought feedback from partner agencies and healthcare professionals. These included the local authority’s contracts and commissioning services. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with the director, manager, quality assurance lead and two staff. We contacted another 6 staff via email. We looked at 3 people's care records and 2 staff recruitment files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and action plans, were reviewed.
Updated
29 November 2022
About the service
Right at Home Tyneside is a service registered to provide personal care to individuals living in their own homes and they primarily offer services to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 60 people using the service.
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 very happy with the service in terms of staff attitude, knowledge skills and the care they received. Some people experienced later calls than agreed. The provider was aware of this and had taken steps to reduce these occurrences.
People and relatives said staff were good at their jobs and always took the time to get to know them. Staff built a rapport with people.
Staff were passionate about supporting people. They were empowered by the provider to be compassionate and to focus on people, not just tasks.
The provider had a robust governance system in place, which identified issues and trends, enabling the service to continually improve.
There were enough staff on duty to cover the care packages. Staff worked hard to cover for each other so there was no reliance on agency staff.
Medicine management was effective and closely monitored. Staff had the appropriate training and there were effective audits in place.
Staff adhered to COVID regulations and procedures. There were ample supplies of PPE, training and observations of staff to ensure they followed best practice.
The staff used the assessments as the basis for the care records and ensured these fully captured people's need. When necessary, external professionals were involved in individual people’s care.
Staff received mandatory and additional training, such as when people required extra help with their nutrition and hydration. Staff supervision sessions happened regularly and staff told us they were well supported. The provider had regard to staff wellbeing and safety and recognised the importance of this.
Staff had received training around the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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.
Staff had safeguarding training and were confident in how to raise any concerns. There were clear complaints policies and procedures in place.
Quality assurance and governance systems were well established and effective.
For more details, please see the full report which is on CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 17 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.