Background to this inspection
Updated
20 November 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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Right at Home Medway is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The registered manager had left the service at the beginning of October 2019. The provider was taking appropriate and timely action to recruit a new manager to undertake this role. This means the provider is 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did:
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We visited two people in their homes to gain their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, operations manager, a senior carer, two care staff and the compliance manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two peoples care and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also saw a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality audits.
After the inspection
We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service.
Updated
20 November 2019
About the service
Right at Home Medway is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were eight older people, including people living with dementia, using the service. Care and support was provided within the Medway towns and surrounding areas.
People’s experience of using this service
People received person-centred care that was outstanding. Staff were matched with the people they supported and had an excellent understanding of people’s individual and cultural preferences. A professional told us, “It is family run and more personal as staff get to know people’s ways, what they did before they had dementia and their likes and dislikes. They go out of their way to make things person-centred.”
Staff were motivated to support people in creative ways. Staff had enabled a person to enjoy their garden, by gradually bringing the garden to them. Reminiscence had been used to improve another person's well-being. When one person could not give their consent in writing, their verbal consent was recorded in a video.
The service had received a number of compliments about how the service had gone the ‘extra mile’ to respond flexibly to people’s individual needs. Engaging people in their interests and reminiscing about past events was seen as essential in promoting and maintaining people’s well-being.
The provider took a key role in the community, developing links and working in partnership with other social and health care professionals. They had held a dementia café and attended events to gain information on how to enable people with dementia to live well.
People were cared for by a consistent team of staff who were skilled and competent in providing care and support. Trusting and caring relationships had developed between staff and people, so people felt safe and comfortable.
Support for people enabled them to be as independent as possible so they could remain in their own home. They had 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’s health and well-being was monitored, and they received the support they needed with their medicines. Risks to people’s well-being and the environment were effectively managed.
The service was well-led. People’s feedback about the quality of care was actively sought. There was an open culture of learning from mistakes, concerns, incidents, accidents and other relevant events.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and why we inspected
This service was registered with us on 17/10/2018 and this is the first inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.