Updated 5 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations under the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
One inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type:
Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older people and people who may have dementia, a physical disability, a sensory impairment and/or mental health needs.
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 visit because it is a small service and we needed to make sure the relevant staff and information would be available in the office.
The inspection site visit took place on 13 February 2019. We visited the office location to see the office staff and to review care records and policies and procedures. The registered manager was not available on the day of the visit. The head of regulated services for the provider was present and assisted us during the day.
What we did:
Before the inspection site visit:
¿ We looked at information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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 looked at all the information we had collected about the service. This included previous
inspection reports, information received and notifications the registered manager had sent us.
A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about
by law.
¿ We contacted five community professionals asking for feedback on the service and received
responses from two.
¿ We contacted 14 members of staff asking for feedback on working for the service and received
responses from 11.
During the inspection site visit we looked at:
¿ Three people's care plans, daily notes, monitoring records and medication sheets.
¿ The one recruitment file of new staff employed after the service registered. Other staff had
transferred from another of the provider's services and their recruitment had already been
checked when we inspected that service.
¿ The staff training matrix.
¿ The staff supervision log.
¿ Management audits and quality assurance reports.
¿ Policies and procedures.
¿ Records of accidents and incidents.
¿ Staff meeting minutes.
¿ Records of compliments.
¿ Records of concerns.
After the inspection site visit, for feedback of their experiences, we contacted:
¿ Three people who use the service.
¿ Four relatives of people who use the service.