We carried out a review of the data available to us about North Home Care on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about North Home Care, you can give feedback on this service.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
About the service
North Home Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 31 people at the time of the inspection. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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
Right Support:
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff supported people to take risks where this was appropriate. Plans were in place to minimise risks to people to enable people to be supported with their choices.
People were invited to provide feedback about the service and their support on a regular basis. People told us they felt staff listened to them.
Right Care:
People’s care plans reflected their needs and the service had sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had undertaken the training they needed to support people effectively.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse and how to raise concerns. There were sufficient infection control processes in place to keep people safe. The provider checked to ensure staff were following good hygiene practices.
Where people received support with their medicines people received their medicines as prescribed.
Right Culture:
Auditing had improved and was used to support and drive forward improvements. Where improvements were identified action was taken. Staff were happy in their role and told us they felt well supported.
The service worked in partnership with other organisations to improve outcomes for people.
Incidents were reported and action taken to minimise risks to people. Staff were recruited safely.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement, (published on 09 July 2019). There were no breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found the service had improved.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for North Home Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
Since the last inspection we recognised that the provider had failed to ensure their rating was displayed. This was a breach of regulation, and we issued a fixed penalty notice. The provider accepted a fixed penalty and paid this in full.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
People’s experience of using this service:
People told us they felt safe when staff from North Home Care visited them at home. One person told us, “The staff use the key safe and always lock back up when they go”. A person’s love one told us if they were not home staff used the key safe and they trusted staff with the code.
Assessments of people’s needs and any risks had been completed. However, risks had not always been assessed using recognised assessment tools. People had planned their support with staff. Detailed guidance about how to provide people’s care was not included in everyone’s care plans. This had not impacted on people, who told us staff provided their care in the way they preferred.
The provider and registered manager did not have complete oversight of the service. They checked care delivery but had not completed comprehensive checks on care plans and risks assessments to make sure they contained all the information staff needed to provide consistent care. The provider and registered manager had effective plans in place to continually improve the service.
Staff knew the signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with the registered manager and outside agencies. People were not discriminated against and received care tailored to them. People were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible. Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were supported to remain as healthy as possible. Staff supported them to health care appointments and for check-ups. People’s medicines were managed safely. People were supported to plan and prepare balanced meals, of food they liked and met their cultural needs and preferences. Where people required assistance, staff supported them to eat and drink safely.
Staff deployment was planned to ensure people received their care from a small team of staff who knew them well. Staff had the skills they needed to provide safe and effective care and had been recruited safely. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and shared the providers vision for the service.
Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were motivated. The provider and registered manager were always available to provide the support and guidance staff needed. Records in respect of each person were accurate and held securely. A process was in place to investigate and resolve any complaints or concerns received.
The registered manager knew when they needed to inform CQC of significant events that had happened at the service, so we could check that appropriate action had been taken.
Rating at last inspection: This is the first rating for this service.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on our policy for inspecting new services.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk