Stella Care Also known as Stella Care Devon Ltd

Stella Care is a community-based care provider that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection 41 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they were very happy with the care and support they received and felt safe and comfortable with the staff that supported them.

Risks associated with people’s care needs and environment were assessed and provided staff with the information they needed to support people safely. Staff knew people well and knew what action to take to reduce risks.

Staff had been recruited safely and people were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their needs.

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 to take their medicines safely and staff understood how to protect people from infection control risks.

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care and support that people received. These included regular audits and welfare checks (spot checks) to ensure staff were working in line with the provider's policies and values and people were happy with the care and support they received.

People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys and reviews.

Staff were given opportunities to feedback and discuss their role, performance and training needs through staff meetings, and regular supervision.

The service worked in partnership with health professionals to ensure good outcomes for people. Health care professionals we contacted were positive about 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 5 September 2018)

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.

Stella Care is a domiciliary care service, which provides personal care for adults who live in their own homes. The service caters for older people, as well as those with a physical disability or sensory impairment and also those who are living with a dementia related illness. The domiciliary care service is based in offices in Torquay Devon. The service currently supports 18 people in the community.

At the time of our inspection a manager was in post, who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. The new manager was available and co-operative throughout the inspection process, during which they demonstrated openness and transparency. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were very happy with the service and the support they received. People had confidence in the staff who supported them. Care staff were familiar to them and knew them well. There were enough staff to provide care and to offer flexibility in the service. The manager made sure new staff had a full employment history and obtained recruitment checks before employing them. Staff received training to enable them to deliver effective care. They were supported in their roles by supervision and appraisal.

People told us their care workers were kind and caring. They confirmed that their privacy and dignity was respected at all times and they were supported to maintain their independence, as far as possible. Records we saw supported this information.

People received a safe service. We found the service had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to provide safe care for people.

Risk assessments were in place to ensure that health care risks and environmental hazards had been identified and strategies implemented, in-order to protect people from harm. However, specific risks related to complex health needs were not in place, such as, people living with diabetes or epilepsy and for people at risk of choking. We made a recommendation to the provider about assessing risks and all health related risks were implemented immediately and included in people's care plans by the end of the inspection.

Staff understood how consent should be considered in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The registered manager understood the requirements of the law and what action to take if they became concerned about a person's ability to make decisions for themselves.

People were offered choices in the meals and drinks staff prepared for them. Staff understood people's dietary requirements and when necessary left snacks or drinks for the person to have later.

People were involved in planning their care and determining how they wished to receive support. They spoke highly of the care they received and of how staff would assist them with additional tasks if necessary. People's care was reviewed and updated in line with their needs and wishes. Where people could benefit from additional support, referrals were made to other healthcare professionals.

People felt able to contact the management team or staff if they had concerns and said they received a quick response.

Systems had been implemented so that the quality of service provided could be closely monitored, to ensure that people were receiving the care and support they required. These were in the form of audits and surveys. Records showed that people had been asked for their views about the service they received and meetings for staff were held at regular intervals, so that they could express their views about the quality of care delivered and the support received by staff.