Updated 19 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 carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care.
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 the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted the registered manager to be available for our visit.
Inspection activity started on 28 April 2021 and ended on 4th May 2021. We visited the office location on 28 April 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Clinical commissioning teams. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We looked at the recruitment files for one staff member who had been employed since the last inspection and another who was currently undergoing the recruitment process. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed to support our judgement.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic we limited the time we spent on site. Therefore, we requested records and documentation to be sent to us and reviewed these off site and continued dialogue with the manager by email.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two people who used the service and two family members about their experiences of the care provided. We also spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, nominated Individual, staff co-ordinator and support workers.
We looked at 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. We received this after our visit.