Background to this inspection
Updated
3 February 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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection Team
This inspection was carried out by one 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 homes.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the provider short notice of the inspection visit. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 16 January 2023 with our telephone survey of people who use the service and finished on 23 January 2023. We visited the office on 23 January 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. 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.
During the inspection
We spoke with nine people who use the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with the registered manager, operations director and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We sought feedback from 21 staff. We received feedback from three staff. We sought feedback from 13 professionals and received feedback from two professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care and support plans, four people's medicines administration records, three staff recruitment files and the staff training matrix. A variety of records relating to the management of the service including the policies and audits were also reviewed.
Updated
3 February 2023
Spectrum Group Services Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 37 people aged 18 and over at the time of the inspection.
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
The registered manager and senior team used clear auditing and governance systems to maintain a detailed oversight of the service, manage risks and make improvements.
People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse by knowledgeable, trained staff. Risks to people and within their environment were effectively assessed and documented using evidence-based tools. People’s medicines were managed safely. There were safe numbers of suitable staff to provide care and support to people. People were protected from the spread of infection by trained staff. The registered manager and staff team continually reflected on practice to make improvements to people's care and support.
The registered manager and staff team were committed to delivering person-centred, compassionate care. Staff and the people they supported were involved in how the service was run and their feedback was sought regularly.
Staff demonstrated a culture of learning and continuous improvement and worked collaboratively with other professionals to meet people's needs. 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.
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 27 October 2021) and there were two 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 11 August 2021. 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 comply with the regulations for safe care and treatment 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 of safe and well led, which cover 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 Spectrum group Services Limited 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.