11 May 2018
During a routine inspection
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal, palliative and end of life care and support to people living in their own houses and flats. It is located in the Vauxhall area of south London.
This was the first inspection since the service was registered in July 2017.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People’s relatives said they were satisfied with the service provided and the way staff delivered the service.
The service kept up to date records that covered each aspect of the care and support provided for people, the support choices they had made and identified they were being met. They contained clearly recorded, fully completed, and regularly reviewed information that enabled staff to perform their duties well.
Staff were very aware of their responsibilities towards the people they supported, regarding the care they provided and of how people wished to be supported. The care and support was provided in a professional, friendly and kind manner and delivered by staff with appropriate skills.
Staff were aware that they must treat people equally and respect their diversity and human rights. This was reflected by what people’s relatives told us about staff care practices and that they felt people were treated fairly and respectfully.
Staff received appropriate training, were suitably qualified and made themselves accessible to people. They told us the organisation was an excellent place to work; their work was very rewarding and they had access to good training and support.
The registered manager and staff encouraged people and their relatives to discuss health and other needs and passed on agreed information to community based health professionals, as required.
Staff protected people from nutrition and hydration associated risks by giving advice about healthy food options and balanced diets whilst still making sure people’s likes, dislikes and preferences were met.
The service was aware of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and their responsibilities regarding it.
The registered manager was approachable, responsive, encouraged feedback from people and consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.
The health care professionals that we contacted were happy with the support that the service provided for people.