9 December 2014
During a routine inspection
Carewatch (Meridian) provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service provided care to 97 people with a range of needs including those living with dementia and people who needed support following hospital in-patient treatment.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People, and their relatives, said they felt safe with the staff. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults. Staff had a good awareness of the correct procedures to follow if they considered someone they provided care to was being neglected or poorly treated.
Staffing was organised so people received a reliable service. We did, however, received some feedback from people where staff did not always arrive on time. For those people we spoke to about this they told us this was sometimes due to unforeseen delays and that they were informed of this.
People were supported by staff to take their medicines and this was recorded in their care plans. Staff were trained and their competency assessed regarding the support they gave to people with medicines.
Checks were carried out on newly appointed staff so that people received care from staff suitable to work with them. People were supported by staff who were well trained and motivated to provide a good standard of care.
People had agreed and consented to their care. There were policies and procedures for the use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Staff had a good understanding of the principles of the legislation and knew what to do when someone did not have capacity to consent to their care.
People’s nutritional needs were assessed and they were supported with meals and drinks. Arrangements were made to support people with their healthcare needs, such as liaising with community health services and monitoring people’s general health.
People were treated with kindness and respect. People described staff as “gentle,” kind and thoughtful. People were consulted about how they liked to be supported so care was provided in the way they preferred.
People said they were involved in reviews of their care needs and their care was adjusted and amended to suit their changing needs and preferences. Issues raised by people were addressed such as requests for changes in care times and care staff. People said staff carried out additional tasks if they asked them.
There was an effective complaints procedure. People said they knew how to raise any issues they had about their care and that these were addressed to their satisfaction. Complaints were investigated and responded to by the registered manager.
The provider used a number of methods to monitor its performance and to check people received the right care. These included people being asked if they were satisfied with their care. Checks were made that staff behaviour and performance promoted a caring and effective service. Staff were committed to providing a good service and knew what to do if they had any concerns about people’s welfare and safety. Systems were used by the service’s management team to monitor that care was reviewed with people on a regular basis. Plans were put in place where quality assurance checks showed improvements were needed to the service.