Background to this inspection
Updated
6 January 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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was completed by one inspector and one Expert by Experience who made phone calls to people and relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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
This inspection was announced. We gave the service notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We visited the office location on 07 June 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. The provider completed a provider information return (PIR) 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.
The Expert by Experience spoke with 12 people receiving support to gather their views and we received feedback from six staff.
During the inspection
We spoke with the director, the registered manager, senior carer and administrator. We reviewed a range of records, including three people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including incidents, complaints and audits were also viewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and the provider sent us additional information, as requested.
Updated
6 January 2022
About the service:
Right at Bishop’s Stortford & Braintree is a service registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supports younger adults and older people living in and around the Bishops Stortford area. On the day of our inspection they were supporting 16 people with the regulated activity of personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
People benefitted from a caring staff team and were supported by a dedicated staff team which meant they experienced continuity of care. The feedback from people was positive. One person told us, “They are like family to me.”
People received safe care from staff that knew them well and were able to identify any changes or concerns. The provider had procedures in place that guided staff how to escalate any safeguarding concerns. The rotas were planned in advanced, which meant staff knew who and where they were visiting.
Where people received support with taking their medicines, this had been carried out in line with good practice guidance. Staff had training and followed good practice guidance around infection control. People told us staff wore protective personal equipment, such as masks and gloves.
People’s needs were assessed prior to the commencement of the service. The assessment included people’s health, physical and emotional need as well as communication needs. The environment was also risk assessed and detailed plans were in place.
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.
Staff received training that enabled them to perform well in their roles and told us they were well supported. The service worked well with external professionals to ensure, when needed, people had access to healthcare services. The service also worked with other professionals to ensure people had pain free,dignified end of life care.
The service was led by a director who were also the owner of the company and a registered manager. There was a clear staffing structure and a recently registered new manager, who was registered in January 2021.
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 08 August 2019 and this is their first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection of a registered service which had not been inspected.
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