Archived: Bridgewater Home Care

Updated 13 August 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. 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 on both days of the inspection.

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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. During the inspection the registered manager was not available, and the service was being managed by another experienced care manager.

Inspection activity started on 03 July 2019 and ended on 04 July 2019. We visited the office location on 03 and 04 July 2019 to see the manager and office staff; to review care records and policies and procedures and to speak to care staff. We visited people who used the service and their relatives on 04 July 2019 to seek their feedback and opinions of the service provided.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the care manager, (as the registered manager was not available at the time of the inspection), the recruitment and retention co-ordinator, and four members of care staff.

We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, audits and governance records. We looked at seven people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision.

Updated 13 August 2019

About the service

Bridgewater Home Care is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The agency's office is situated in Bolton. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 15 people.

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 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 some people to access other healthcare professionals when required. Staff supported a small number of people to manage their medicines safely.

People were supported by a small group of regular staff which provided continuity and familiarity and people’s comments confirmed this approach. Staff had developed relationships with people and knew them well; people received person-centred care as a result

People were supported in a friendly and respectful way. People and their relatives were complimentary about the staff and their caring attitude.

Systems were in place to recruit staff safely; there were sufficient numbers of trained staff to support people safely. Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff were of suitable character and had relevant experience to work with vulnerable people.

Staff had awareness of safeguarding and knew how to raise concerns. Steps were taken to minimise risk where possible.

Staff promoted people's independence and treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in making decisions about their care and involved in reviews to ensure their care plans met their needs and supported them to achieve outcomes. Staff supported some people to access the community.

People’s needs were comprehensively assessed before starting with the service; people and their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process.

Staff were competent and had the skills and knowledge to enable them to support people safely and effectively. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively and received regular supervisions and annual appraisals; this was confirmed by staff we spoke with.

People’s care plans were person-centred and provided staff with the information they needed to provide care and support in a way that met people’s needs and preferences. There was evidence that care plans were reviewed regularly or as people’s needs changed.

People knew how to make a complaint. There was an effective complaints process in place to deal with any complaints that might be raised in the future.

The care manager and staff were committed to providing high quality care and support for people.

The service had an open and supportive culture. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of care delivered. There was evidence of improvement and learning from any actions identified.

The provider and care manager followed governance systems which provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service.

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 25 July 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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.