MBI Homecare Ltd

Updated 14 May 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors. Both inspectors gathered feedback about the service from people, their relatives and care workers via the telephone. One inspector visited the service on 29 April 2021.

Service and service type

MBI Homecare Limited is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The provider was also the registered manager, and for the purposes of this report will be referred to as the 'registered manager'.

Notice of our inspection

We gave the registered manager short notice of the inspection because we needed to make sure they would be available to support the inspection. Also, we were mindful of the impact and added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic on the service.

Inspection activity commenced on 27 April 2021 and ended on 29 April 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed 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. We reviewed the information we had received from the local authority and we checked the information we held about the service, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We used all this information to plan the inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and five people’s relatives about their experiences of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and four care workers. We reviewed a range of records, including four people's care and medication records to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at records related to how the service operated and was managed. We also reviewed three staff files to check staff had been recruited safely.

After the inspection

We reviewed additional documentation sent to us by the deputy manager to validate the evidence found during our site visit.

Updated 14 May 2021

About the service

MBI Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care agency. At the time of this inspection the service supported 22 people with personal care. This included adults of all ages who required support due to living with dementia, learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. Other services were provided to people such as help with shopping and cleaning, but these are not regulated activities and therefore we did not look at these.

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

People and their relatives felt the care and support provided by MBI Homecare Ltd was safe. Care workers had completed safeguarding training and understood how to provide safe care. Risks to people's health and wellbeing had been identified. Overall, risk management plans had been completed and reviewed monthly to support staff to manage and mitigate risks.

Staff were recruited safely. Enough care workers were available to provide the care and support people needed at the time they expected.

Care workers sought peoples consent before providing any assistance. A new assessment tool was being implemented at the time of our visit to ensure people’s capacity was assessed and their rights were upheld in line with the law.

Care workers developed and refreshed their knowledge and skills through an initial induction followed by an ongoing training. Their competence to carry out their roles was assessed by the registered manager.

People received their medicines as prescribed from trained staff. Care workers followed good infection control practice in people’s homes.

People has access to healthcare services and support when required. People's health was monitored, and advice was obtained if any changes or signs of illness were identified. Care workers knew what people liked to eat and drink and prepared meals in line with people’s dietary requirements.

The registered manager demonstrated understanding of their regulatory responsibilities and lessons had been learnt when things had gone wrong. Governance systems had recently been strengthened and managerial oversight had been improved in response to safeguarding investigations to drive forward improvement.

Staff enjoyed their jobs and felt the service was well-led. People and their relatives felt listened to and spoke positively about leadership of the service and the quality of care they received.

Rating at last inspection: The last rating for this service was good (published 24 August 2019).

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted due to concerns received about the provider’s failure to follow their own procedure to obtain timely medical treatment when two people had been unwell. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern and the provider had taken action to mitigate that risk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.