Head Office

Updated 5 January 2022

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

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 the Care Quality Commission who was also the provider. This means that they 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 four working days’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to support the inspection. Consent also needed to be sought from people and relatives to receive a telephone call to give their feedback.

What we did before the inspection

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 spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and a director, both of which were the care staff. This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls and telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. Inspection activity started on 03 December 2021 and ended on 07 December 2021.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care plans, risk assessments and communication logs. A variety of records relating to the management of the agency, including policy and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 5 January 2022

About the service

Head Office is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks such as personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting two people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People spoke highly of the care and support they received. People were at the centre of their care, ensuring their wishes were recorded and respected. People were supported by the same staff providing consistency and continuity of care to people. Staff knew people well and spent time with people and their loved ones promoting their well-being. Feedback was sought from people and their loved ones and acted on.

People’s needs were assessed with them and their loved ones prior to receiving any care or support. Care records promoted people’s independence and were responsive to people’s wishes and needs. Care records were kept under constant review and changes were made as required.

People felt safe with staff that knew them well and knew how to meet their needs. Staff received training and knew the action to take if they suspected abuse. Staff followed guidance to reduce risks posed to people.

At the time of our inspection people were not supported to manage their medicines; however, staff had been trained and systems were in place for the safe administration and auditing of people’s medicines.

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.

The management team were committed to providing a high-quality service to people with a strive to continuous improvement. Staff had been trained to meet people’s needs and processes were in place to induct and new members of staff. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service people received.

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 25April 2019 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the timescales for unrated services.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

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.