Updated 9 December 2023
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
One inspector completed the inspection.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post who was also the provider and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
Notice of inspection
We gave 48 hours notice of the inspection. This was to make arrangements to carry out a virtual inspection and we needed to be sure the provider would be available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 20 November 2023 and ended on 24 November 2023. We contacted people and relatives on 23 November 2023.
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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also received email feedback from 3 relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, who was also the provider and nominated individual, the director of quality, and 5 care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We received email feedback from 1 member of the care staff. We reviewed a range of records including 4 people's care and medicines records. We looked at recruitment records for 2 members of staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were also reviewed. We also received email feedback from 3 social care professionals.
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls, telephone calls and email to enable us to engage with people using the service, relatives and staff. We used electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.