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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and other support to people living in their own houses and flats.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 23 September 2019 and ended on 8 October 2019. We visited the office on 23 and 24 September, and 8 October 2019. We gathered other evidence until 22 October 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, which included any notifications of significant incidents which the provider is required by legislation to report to us. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

The inspector carried out three home visits to meet three people who were receiving reablement and one relative. We also spoke with nine reablement staff, the registered manager, an occupational therapist and the nominated individual, who is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. Additionally, we spoke with nine health and social care professionals employed by the provider or the local healthcare trust, who worked closely with the reablement staff team to support people using the service. These professionals included physiotherapists and social workers.

We looked at a variety of records, which included nine people’s care plans and accompanying risk assessments. We checked six staff files in relation to recruitment, supervision, training and professional development. A range of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, which included audits conducted by the provider and feedback questionnaires completed by people who used the service and their relatives.

After the inspection

We spoke by telephone with four people and three relatives, and received written comments from six health and social care professionals. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.