Background to this inspection
Updated
6 April 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
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 houses and flats.
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
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.
Inspection activity started on 16 March 2022 and ended on 22 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 16 March 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager and two administrators.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. We reviewed medicines records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, recruitment and quality assurance records.
Updated
6 April 2022
About the service
Courtyard Mews is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own home. At the time of the inspection, they were providing personal care to 72 people. People using the service were older people and at the end of life.
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
Feedback from the person we spoke with was positive. They were satisfied with the care provided by the care staff.
People received safe care and support from Courtyard Mews. The registered manager and staff we spoke with knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. The registered manager carried out home visits to ensure both staff and people were safe.
Care plans contained detailed risk assessments. This mitigated any identified risks. Environmental risk assessments were also in place, which identified and reduced any environmental risks to people and staff.
People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving support including their protected characteristics under the Equalities Act.
Robust recruitment processes were in place. This prevented unsuitable staff from working with people. Staff were skilled in carrying out their role. The registered manager ensured staff were appropriately trained.
Staff were caring and always protected people’s dignity and independence. Staff gave people choices in their care daily.
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 example, Staff had the information they needed to support people to make choices. Staff knew people had the right to make unwise decision.
The service had an effective system in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided.
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 31 January 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the length of time since the service registered with us.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Courtyard Mews on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.