Southvale Care

Updated 12 November 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by two inspectors and one 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

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

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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection so people using the service could provide consent to take part in the inspection by giving us feedback by telephone.

What we did before the inspection

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 also sought feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

Inspection activity started on 4 October 2022 and ended on 1 November 2022. We visited the location’s office on 4 October 2022.

During the inspection

We spoke with 14 people and relatives by phone to gain feedback on their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, 1 care co-ordinator and 4 care staff and received feedback from the local authority.

We reviewed a range of records relating to peoples care including four people’s care plans and risk assessments, a range of medicines administration records, quality assurance records relating to the running of the service and three staff recruitment files.

Updated 12 November 2022

About the service

Southvale Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own home. The service provides support to people with a variety of needs, including people living with dementia, mental health diagnosis and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 48 people using the service. The service supported people living in the Southampton area.

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

There were areas of the provider’s governance systems that needed to be improved. For example, we found records relating to aspects of people’s medicines management and moving and handling plans were not always consistently detailed or complete. We also noted two examples where the provider had not made notifications to CQC that were required.

We received positive feedback about the registered manager’s professionalism and passion for supporting both people and staff and that they were easily accessible and approachable when needed.

The provider ensured there were appropriate levels of staff to meet people’s needs, however, we have recommended the provider review their recruitment practices to ensure these are consistently robust. Where required, people were supported to receive their medicines by staff who had been assessed as competent in safe medicines administration, and systems were in place to support people to have their medicines when required. There were clear safeguarding systems in place to ensure people were protected from the risk of abuse.

People were supported to manage their dietary needs and people’s nutritional intake was monitored where this was appropriate. People were supported by staff who were trained for their role and the registered manager sought additional training to meet people’s individual needs where this was required. Staff told us they felt supported in their role by the registered manager and senior team and knew how to seek additional advice and guidance if this was needed.

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.

We received consistently positive feedback from people and their relatives that staff treated people with kindness and compassion. People’s care was delivered with dignity and respect and the registered manager regularly sought feedback from people to ensure they were happy with the service they received.

People’s care plans included information on their histories, medical diagnosis and relationships that were important to them. People told us they knew how to raise concerns, and the registered manager was diligent in acting on people’s feedback to promote positive outcomes for people. We received feedback from the local authority that the provider worked flexibly with people to ensure their care was tailored to meet their individual needs.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support: The model of care maximises people’s choice, control and independence. People’s care calls were tailored to meet their specific needs.

Right Care: Care promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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 on 04 January 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Recommendations

We have recommended the provider proactively reviews their recruitment practices and governance and oversight to identify and embed the required improvements identified at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.