We carried out a review of the data available to us about Home Instead Warminster and Gillingham on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Home Instead Warminster and Gillingham, you can give feedback on this service.
Home Instead Warminster & Gillingham is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for people in their own home. The service offered support to people who require help with day to day routines, including meal preparation, shopping and housework. At the time of our inspection 22 people were receiving a regulated activity (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 told us they felt safe with staff and staff were able to evidence how and when to report a safeguarding concern.
Safe recruitment processes were in place to ensure staff were suitable for their roles.
Staff received induction, training and supervision to carry out their role effectively and safely. Risks to people had been identified and as such, this helped staff keep people safe and free from harm.
People received the medicines they required and people told us staff wore the appropriate PPE during the pandemic.
The registered manager and provider had good oversight of the service. Quality assurance systems had been developed to monitor the service.
Feedback from people, relatives and staff demonstrated they were happy with all aspects of the service.
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.
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 15 January 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to people’s personal care needs not being met and not being recorded. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has remained as good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Home Instead Warminster and Gillingham 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.
This inspection took place on 27 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice because the service provides domiciliary care and we needed to be sure someone would be available to support our inspection. This was the service’s first inspection following registration with the Care Quality Commission.
There was a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were kept safe. Staff understood their responsibilities and were knowledgeable about safeguarding. Staff had received training and there were systems in place to notify the appropriate authorities when concerns were identified.
Where risks were identified, assessments were in place which detailed methods to reduce the risk and actions taken to manage the risk. Staff were aware of people’s needs and how to keep them safe.
Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and knew how to apply its principles to their work with people. We saw that the appropriate legal authorisations were in place where people lacked capacity to make decisions. Consent was gained prior to any care being provided.
People and their relatives were involved in developing and reviewing their care plans, which were person centred and recorded people’s choices and preferences. Care plans contained detailed life histories which enabled staff to build meaningful relationships with people through conversation and shared interests.
Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide care to meet the specific needs of the people they supported. They had a thorough induction and probationary period which included competency checks and observation of practice.
There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s needs. Staff were matched to people with similar experiences and interests. All staff were recruited safely.
People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion. People’s dignity was promoted and their privacy maintained.
The service was responsive to people’s specific and changing needs. The service liaised with health and social care services to ensure support plans were up to date and followed good practice guidance.
The registered manager and director undertook regular audits and quality checks of the service and care being provided. These were supported by a further level of checks from the national office. Feedback was sought from people, their relatives and staff to inform development plans.