Lavender Care Agency Ltd

Updated 1 January 2020

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

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

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

Inspection activity started on 12 December 2019 and ended on 17 December 2019. We visited the office location on 12 December 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including notifications received about key events that occurred at the service. 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 used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person and one relative about their experience of care provided. We spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records including two people’s care records, the registered manager’s staff file and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 1 January 2020

Lavender Care Agency Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to two people at the time of the inspection. 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 involved in their assessments and care planning. They received personalised care that met their needs and ensured their safety. The registered manager regularly liaised with people to obtain their views on service delivery and people were supported in line with their wishes and choices. Staff were aware of people’s individual differences and respected their cultural background, religious preferences and life choices. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity, and enabled them to have as much independence as possible. They were aware of who was important in their lives and supported them to maintain relationships with friends and family to protect them from becoming socially isolated.

Staff had received training and there were processes in place should people need support with nutritional needs and/or help taking their medicines.

There were processes in place to record, review and manage complaints, accidents and incidents. Staff were knowledgeable in recognising signs of abuse and were aware of the local authority’s safeguarding adults’ procedures.

There were sufficient suitable, experienced and knowledgeable staff to support people. Staff received regular training to ensure their skills were up to date. The registered manager was in the process of recruiting care workers and safe recruitment practices were followed.

The registered manager was aware of their role and responsibilities, including their responsibility to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of certain events and the duty of candour.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 13/08/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.