Background to this inspection
Updated
29 June 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
This inspection was completed by 1 inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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 a short period notice of the inspection because 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.
Inspection activity started on 12 and ended on 15 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 12 June 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 people who use the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 staff including the registered manager, support staff and human resources staff. We also received information from 3 further staff about their experiences of working for the provider. We spent time observing interactions between staff and people in communal areas. We reviewed a range of records including 3 people’s care records. We looked at 3 staff recruitment records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including audits.
Updated
29 June 2023
About the service
Avondalecare (Kent) Limited is a care at home service providing personal care). The service provides support to people with mental health needs and or who are autistic. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.
Right Support: The model of care maximised people’s choice, control and independence. People were supported to achieve their goals and agreed how to manage any risks with staff. People were supported by a small number of staff they knew well and trusted. Staff checked people had taken their medicines and reminded them if necessary. People were involved in recruiting staff who were of good character and had the skills to meet their needs.
Right Care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People told us they felt safe with staff. Staff knew how to identify risks of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns. People were supported to understand infection control risks and how to manage them.
Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Checks the provider completed had improved and any shortfalls were identified and addressed. Staff felt supported by managers who were approachable.
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 2 July 2022). 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 31 May 2022. 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 improve staff recruitment and checks and audits.
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 Safe and Well-led which contain 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 Avondalecare (Kent) 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.