Updated 25 December 2021
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 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.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager had de-registered with us a few weeks before the inspection. This person was still employed in the service but not as registered manager. The nominated individual for the service was present at the inspection and they told us they would make an application to also be the registered manager. A nominated individual is a named person, who is registered with us. The provider delegates responsibility to this person for overseeing the service on a regular basis. A registered manager and the provider 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. 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 30 November 2021 and ended on 03 December 2021. This involved speaking with people, their relatives and staff. We visited the office location on 30 November 2021.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return 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 also spoke with the local authority to get their view of the service provided. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with six members of staff including the manager, the nominated individual, care assessors and co-ordinators and care staff. We spoke with two people who used the service, four relatives about their experience of the care provided and two social care professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at two 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 also reviewed.