Background to this inspection
Updated
31 May 2023
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 an inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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; 2 people receive support using a supported living model.
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.
What we did before the inspection
We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 4 October 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority, health professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection
We spoke to 5 people who used the service and 5 relatives. We sought the views of 23 staff including 4 management staff and 19 support staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.
Updated
31 May 2023
About the service
Six C’s Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people receiving personal care support from the service.
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.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
The provider did not always demonstrate that people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives or that staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies in the service supported good practice but there were not always records in place to evidence this. Staff had essential training but it was not clearly recorded that new staff received induction training.
Right Care:
The service made sure there were enough staff to support people and keep them safe. Staff knew people well and knew the most effective ways to communicate with them. Care was provided in a person-centred and flexible way. People said staff treated them with care and kindness and supported them to follow their own lifestyles.
Right Culture:
The culture at the service was positive. People, relatives and staff said the service was managed in an open, approachable and inclusive way. Staff were complimentary about the values they shared with their colleagues and the supportive team culture this created. The provider needed to develop quality assurance systems to show how the safety and quality of the service was monitored.
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 8 January 2019 but was dormant until it became operational on 22 January 2022. This is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection of a new service.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection. We have also made a recommendation about how people’s consent to care is demonstrated.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.