Archived: Snowdrops and Rosemary Main Office

Updated 5 January 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience in the care of older people, who made telephone calls to people to gain their views about the service. 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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager was also the nominated individual for the service. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. For the purpose of this report we will refer to them as the ‘registered person’.

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 registered person would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection site visit activity started on 18 November 2021 and ended on 2 December 2021. We visited the office location on 18 November 2021 to speak to the registered person and to review a range of management and staff records.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service, including registration reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

We also used the information the registered person 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.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service and we looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We spoke with the registered person and training manager.

After the inspection

We spoke with ten people (or their family members) about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four staff members and four external health or social care professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including, training, quality monitoring, policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 5 January 2022

About the service

Snowdrops and Rosemary Main Office is a domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of our inspection 12 people were receiving a regulated activity from this service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Recruitment procedures were not sufficiently robust to ensure only suitable staff were employed. All necessary pre-employment checks including full employment history, health declaration, references from current or previous employers and the return of a criminal records check had not been completed prior to staff working with vulnerable people. The registered person was unclear about recruitment procedures and we discussed this with them.

Systems to monitor the quality and safety of care delivered were in place, however, improvements were needed to allow robust processes to be implemented to ensure all aspects of the service were safe.

We received positive feedback from people and their family about the service they were receiving. Everyone spoke highly about staff and the registered person. People felt they were cared for with kindness and compassion. External health professionals were equally positive about the management team and service people had received.

People told us they felt safe and secure when receiving care. People were supported to meet their

nutritional and hydration needs, medicines were safely managed, and staff contacted healthcare

professionals when required. Staff followed all necessary infection prevention measures.

People told us they had been involved in care planning and care plans reflected people's individual needs and choices. People's risk assessments and risks relating to their home environment were detailed and helped reduce risks to people while maintaining their independence. Staff were responsive to people's needs.

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. Staff understood consent and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.

There were enough care staff to maintain the schedule of visits. Staff told us they felt supported, received regular supervision and training.

People had regular contact from the registered person who undertook some care calls and completed all assessments and initial visits for new people. People and staff were confident the registered person would listen to them and take any necessary action should the need arise.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 27 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took

account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering

what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.

We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to

hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified a breach in relation to the safe recruitment of staff. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve ensure the safe recruitment of staff. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.