Mega Resources Nursing & Care - Head Office - Northamptonshire

Updated 4 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This 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 provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 23 March 2023 and ended on 6 April 2023. We visited the location’s office on 4 April 2023.

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 who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 family members or their representative, and 4 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager who is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We spoke with the Field Manager & Rapid Response Lead, the Chief Operations Officer, the Senior Recruitment Consultant - International Lead when we visited the office. We spoke with 2 senior care assistants and 1 care assistant by telephone.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring, minutes of meetings, policies and procedures, and the staff training and supervision matrix.

Updated 4 May 2023

About the service

Mega Resources Nursing & Care – Head Office - Northamptonshire is a domiciliary care service providing the regulated activity personal care, which is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating, in people’s own homes. At the time of our inspection 50 people were receiving personal care on a long term basis. In addition, there were 19 people receiving personal care for a short term period of up to 6 weeks, referred to as the ‘rapid response service’. The short term service supported people to regain skills, independence and confidence following discharge from hospital.

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

Systems and processes were in place to support people's safety. People's needs, including their safety were assessed and monitored. People were supported by staff who had undergone a robust recruitment process. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs. People and family members spoke of the reliability of the service. People received the support they required with their medicines. Staff worked consistently within the providers policy and procedure for infection prevention and control.

The management team had effective systems for liaising with commissioners to facilitate people’s safe and timely discharge from hospital. People's needs were assessed and kept under review, which involved commissioners for people in receipt of short term care. People and family members contributed to the assessment process.

People's health care needs were documented, and staff liaised with family members regarding people's health and wellbeing where required. Staff had the required experience, knowledge and training to meet people's needs, which included training by health care professionals to undertake some aspects of people’s care. Staff were monitored through ongoing assessment of their knowledge and competence.

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 and family members spoke of the kind and caring approach of staff and of their involvement in decisions about their care, stating their views were respected by staff.

People and their family members were involved in the development and reviewing of their care and support package, and the care packages were tailored to reflect people's preferences. People and family members were aware of how to raise a concern, and told us they had no complaints about the service.

The provider’s systems and processes monitored the quality of the service being provided. People's views and that of family members and staff were sought through surveys, which were analysed and used to identify where improvements were needed. A range of audits were undertaken to monitor the quality of care provided. Staff were supported through ongoing monitoring and good communication, which included regular staff meetings to support the delivery of good quality care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 August 2021). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance. At this inspection we found improvement had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.