Archived: Clover Health and Homecare

Clover Health and Homecare is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people who live in their own home. At the time of the inspection there were ten people who were receiving personal care.

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 and their relatives felt safe and spoke positively about the staff. They had confidence in their knowledge and skills. People were supported to take their medicines safely by trained staff. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew how to act on any concerns. Competency was monitored through spot checks and supervisions. Staff were provided appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) which they used effectively to prevent spread of infection.

People benefitted from a service that was well led. The registered manager was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the service. Quality assurance systems were in place and based upon regular, scheduled audits which identified any action required to make improvements. This meant the quality of service people received was monitored on a regular basis and, where shortfalls were identified they were acted upon.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 20 September 2018). At this inspection the rating had remained Good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out as the service had not been inspected since the 29 August 2018. We undertook this focused inspection to check the service was Safe and Well-Led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Clover Health and Homecare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. 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 the inspection the service employed, a registered manager, business manager and care staff. Both the registered manager and business manager were joint directors of the service. They worked closely together to help manage the service and provided personal care to people.

People felt safe and there were systems in place to safeguard them from risk of possible harm. People had individual risk assessments so that staff had the information they needed to support them safely and minimise the identified risks.

People's medicines were being managed safely and administered by staff that were trained. Medicine administration records contained updated guidance to staff and were fully completed. Changes in people's health were identified quickly and staff supported people and their relatives to contact their health care professionals.

Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and protected them from harm. Appropriate checks were made before staff started to work to make sure they were suitable to work with people.

To ensure staff maintained high standards when delivering care, regular spot checks were undertaken, and staff received regular supervision. They told us that they found supervision informative and instructive. They told us that their managers and supervisors were helpful and always available to speak to if they had any concerns. The service operated an on-call system to allow staff to contact a member of the management team in case of any emergencies.

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people and acted in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and supported them effectively. People and relatives told us that staff were respectful of their homes and supported them to maintain their independence.

People were supported to eat meals of their choice and staff understood the importance of people having a nutritional diet.

Staff were described as caring, friendly and supportive. It was clear positive relationships had been built between people and staff. Communication between staff, people and their relatives was positive.

People's needs had been assessed and there were care plans in place that took account of their individual needs, preferences, and choices.

People and their relatives were aware of how to raise concerns or complaints. They said they had been asked for their opinions and if they were happy with the services they received.

There were processes in place to monitor quality and understand the experiences of people who used the service. People and their relatives were happy with how the service was managed. People told us they would happily recommend the service.