Background to this inspection
Updated
25 May 2021
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 undertaken by two inspectors 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 houses and flats. This service also provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care service.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 5 May 2021 and ended on 6 May 2021. We visited the office location on 5 May 2021.
What we did before inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with ten members of staff including the registered manager, service director and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included care records, multiple medication records and three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
25 May 2021
About the service
Creative Support–Tameside Domiciliary Service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. This service also provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. At the time of our inspection there were 138 people using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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 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 were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Risks to people were identified and well managed. Safe systems of recruitment and medicines management were in place. Staff had received training and supervision about Covid-19, infection control and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. People, and where appropriate those who were important to them, were involved in decisions about their care.
People were very positive about the staff who supported them. They had good relationships with the staff and said staff helped them feel less isolated. They said, "They [staff] are very special people and all are good and have warm hearts” and “For me, important people are my carers, my girls, they are thorough and detailed, and they do great job for me. They will do anything for me." Staff spoke very fondly of the people they supported and were positive about their work.
People received personalised care that took account of their needs, wishes and preferences. Support plans and risk assessments were person centred, and covered people's identified needs and preferences. Great importance was placed on what people could do for themselves and how staff could promote people’s independence.
The registered manager understood their responsibilities and operated a variety of quality checks and audits to monitor quality in the service. Staff spoke very highly of the provider, registered manager and how the service was run and organised. They told us the new registered manager had made a positive difference and they felt supported.
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 6 April 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Creative Support-Tameside Domiciliary Service on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.