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. 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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 72 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 20 September and ended on 3 October 2019. We visited the office location on 3 October 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority safeguarding and contracting teams 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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We looked at four people’s care records and three medication administration records. We looked at three staff recruitment, induction, training and supervision records. We viewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including meeting minutes and accident and incident records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and a range of policies and procedures.
Updated
20 November 2019
About the service
Sova Healthcare Harrogate is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service was supporting 8 people at the time of our inspection, including those living with dementia, physical disability, older people and younger adults.
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
People received support from staff who were exceptionally caring and encouraged them to be the lead decision-makers for their care. Staff provided highly attentive and responsive care. People thrived from the person-centred, attentive culture, experiencing significant improvements in their wellbeing.
People’s safety was supported, they felt safe with their care staff. Staff were aware of risks to people and how to reduce these. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed.
People were involved in developing their care plans and ensuring their care was appropriate to their needs. Staff were well supported; they had the knowledge and skills to provide effective care. Staff worked effectively as a team and with healthcare professionals to enable people to live healthier lives and make healthy nutritional choices.
People were supported to have maximum 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.
Care plans contained information to guide staff in providing person-centred care. People’s care visits were organised flexibly to meet their needs. People and their relatives were in regular contact with the registered manager, which meant early action could be taken to address minor issues.
The provider’s value base of person-centred, empowering care was reflected in the care people received. Staff shared these values and were motivated to deliver high quality care. The registered manager was developing their quality assurance systems to capture themes and areas for improvement as the service grew.
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 28 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered.
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.