Home Instead - Gloucester and The Forest of Dean

Updated 5 October 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 had no manager registered with the Care Quality Commission, however a manager had been appointed and had applied to be registered with CQC who will be 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 August 2021 and ended on 18 August 2021. We visited the office location on 12 August 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke to or received email feedback from six relatives. We also spoke with the nominated individual, manager, administrator and three care staff and received feedback from three staff by email. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and a selection of medication records. We looked at 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. We also looked at training data and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 5 October 2021

About the service

Home Instead – Gloucester and The Forest of Dean is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 19 people were supported with their personal care needs.

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

People reported that they felt safe when supported by staff. Staff and managers knew how to report allegations and concerns of abuse and understood their roles clearly and what was expected of them.

Safe medicines management and infection control practices were being used by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent in these areas.

People confirmed that they received person-centred and responsive care. Care plans and risk assessments were in place to direct staff on people’s support requirements and preferences. The risk management and escalation plans for some people and protocols for medicines to be administered ‘as required’ needed more detail to guide staff on their actions if people became unwell. The provider has since taken action to address this concern.

There were enough suitably recruited and trained staff to meet people’s needs. Staff received a comprehensive induction programme and completed regular training to support people's care needs. Staff told us they felt supported and valued by the provider.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and their relatives were very positive about the service they received and the caring nature of staff. Staff had been introduced to people before they started to support them. It was clear from our conversations with people and their relatives that they had developed positive relationships with staff. We have recommended that the provider considers ways of demonstrating how they deliver an exceptional and distinctive service.

Systems were in place to gain people’s feedback about the service they received and to manage any complaints. Records showed that appropriate actions were taken when incidents occurred. Communication between staff/managers and people and their relatives was timely and comprehensive to ensure all relevant parties were aware of any changes in people’s needs or additional support requirements. Staff worked in partnership with health care professionals as required to help people remain in their own homes.

The culture of the service was positive and open. People and staff felt the service was well managed and were confident in the provider’s systems and policies to deliver good quality care. Regular quality assurance checks by the provider and representatives from the Home Instead franchise head office was carried out to ensure people’s needs were being met and maintained

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 in July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service had not been inspected since their registration; therefore, this inspection was carried out to gain assurances about the quality of care and systems used to monitor and the manage the service.

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.