Background to this inspection
Updated
15 November 2022
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience who made phone calls to people and their relatives who used the service. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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.
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 or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 October 2022 and ended on 12 October 2022. We visited the location’s office on 11 October 2022.
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 four people and/or their relatives who used the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, care coordinator and care support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people's care records and three medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
15 November 2022
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
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
Mi Casa Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the agency was supporting 32 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
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. People were supported to achieve goals and wishes by staff that were knowledgeable and whom had built relationships with them. This ensured staff could focused on people’s strengths and encouraged them to remain as independent as possible.
Right Care:
Risk assessments and care plans were person centred and provided staff with clear guidance on how people wished to be supported. Care plans contained processes with clear instruction for staff to know when and how to seek additional medical help.
Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it, this ensured people were protected from harm and abuse. Staff understood people's cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. People we spoke with told us they felt safe and respected by the staff who cared for them.
Right Culture:
The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and was open and transparent. Staff told us they were supported and able to raise concerns freely to management team. There were effective systems and processes in place which ensured the care delivered was monitored, assessed and improved upon.
The provider worked in partnership with other professionals and had been successful in reducing hospital admissions by upskilling and sharing best practices with other organisations.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 February 2020) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 31 December 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the regulations; safe care and treatment, fit and proper persons employed and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions; Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Mi Casa Care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.