Background to this inspection
Updated
5 June 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 associated with 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:
This comprehensive inspection was carried out over two days by one inspector.
Service and service type:
Phoenix Care (Sussex) is a domiciliary care service, which provides personal care and support services for a range of people living in their own homes. 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:
This was an announced inspection. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that staff and people would be available to talk to us.
What we did:
Before inspection:
•We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.
•We reviewed notifications we received from the service about important events.
•We looked at Information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example the local authority and members of the public.
•We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service, including health professionals and the local authority.
During the inspection:
•We spoke with four people who use the service, two relatives, the registered manager, the care field supervisor and three members of staff.
•We pathway tracked the care of three people. Pathway tracking is where we check that the care detailed in individual plans matches the experience of the person receiving care.
•We reviewed records including accident and incident logs, quality assurance records, compliments and complaints, policies and procedures and two staff recruitment records.
Updated
5 June 2019
About the service:
Phoenix Care (Sussex) provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides support to older people and younger adults with physical disabilities, learning difficulties, sensory impairments and mental health needs. At the time of the inspection 18 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
Opportunities to continuously learn, improve and innovate were not always evident as quality assurance systems had not been fully embedded. This included gathering feedback from people, staff, relatives and professionals about their experiences of the service to drive improvement.
The service had been operating for one year and people and relatives were very positive about their experiences to date. People told us that the service was very professional, and they felt confident with the care and support from staff.
People told us they felt safe and knew who to contact if they had any concerns. Systems supported people to stay safe and reduce the risks to them. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe. There was enough staff to support people safely and the registered manager had safe recruitment procedures and processes in place. One person told us, “The staff do an absolute first-class job and I look forward to them coming. They talk through everything with me, I feel confident, happy and safe.”
People received their medicines safely and on time. Staff were trained in administering medicines. People knew what their medication was for and told us they felt reassured by the support with their medicines. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Staff wore gloves and aprons when supporting people.
People were supported to maintain their health and had support to access health care services when they needed to. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People received kind and compassionate care. People and relatives told us that staff treated them with kindness and we observed friendly interactions. One person told us, “The staff are very nice, and I feel cared for.”
People received person centred care that was responsive to their needs and people and relatives knew how to raise a complaint.
Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of Phoenix Care (Sussex) since it was registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 10 May 2018. New services are assessed to check they are likely to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led when registering.
Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection that was scheduled to take place in line with Care Quality Commission (CQC) scheduling guidelines for adult social care.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.