Updated 22 August 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
The inspection was carried out by 1 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
Niche Care Kirklees 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 not a registered manager in post. A manager was in post and was in the process of registering.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 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 18 July 2023 and ended on 01 August 2023. We visited the location’s office on 18 July 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, commissioners and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 8 people who use the service and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 staff members including the manager, the regional manager and care staff.
A range of records were reviewed including 3 people's care records and 5 people’s medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed records relating to health and safety and the management of the service, including policies and procedures, quality assurance records and improvement plans.