Background to this inspection
Updated
8 September 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Our inspection site visit took place on 19 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit so that the management team would be available.
Our inspection was completed by an adult social care 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. Our inspector completed the office visit. Our Expert by Experience completed telephone calls to people and relatives.
Our inspection was informed by evidence we already held about the service. We also checked for feedback we received from members of the public, local authorities and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). We checked records held by Companies House and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
We did not ask the service to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The service had a draft PIR prepared, and we used information from their draft as part of our inspection process.
We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives. We also spoke with the manager and two other staff members. We reviewed five people’s care records, two personnel files, medicines administration records and other records about the management of the service.
After our inspection, we asked the manager to send us further documents and we received and reviewed this information. This evidence was included as part of our inspection.
Updated
8 September 2018
Our inspection took place on 19 July 2018 and was announced.
This was our first inspection of the service since the provider’s registration
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people, and people with physical disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities or dementia.
At the time of our inspection, nine people used the service and there were 15 staff.
The provider is required to have a registered manager as part of their conditions of registration. 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. At the time of our inspection, there was no manager registered with us. The manager had applied to register with us prior to our inspection, and was registered shortly after.
People were protected from abuse and neglect. Appropriate systems were in place to safeguard people from the risk of preventable harm. People’s care risks were appropriately assessed, mitigated and recorded. We found appropriate numbers of staff were deployed to meet people’s needs. People’s medicines were safely managed.
The service was compliant with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and associated codes of practice. People were assisted to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems at the service supported this practice.
Staff support was very good and ensured workers had the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective care for people. People’s care preferences, likes and dislikes were assessed, recorded and respected.
The service was very caring. There was complimentary feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. People and relatives were involved in care planning and reviews. People’s privacy and dignity was respected when care was provided to them.
Care plans were detailed and contained extensive person-centred information. This explained how staff could support people in the right way. We saw there was a complaints system in place which included the ability for people to contact any staff member or the management team. We have made a recommendation about communicating with people effectively in accordance with the Accessible Information Standard.
People, staff and others had very positive opinions about the management and leadership of the service. Staff described there was a good workplace culture. Audits and checks were used to monitor the safety and quality of care. People’s equality and diversity was respected, and their human rights were upheld. There was a strong connection between the service and health and social care agencies. We made a recommendation about equality and diversity inclusion in care practices.