Archived: Homecare4u Bristol

Updated 26 July 2018

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.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Homecare4U on 19 and 20 June 2018 and this was announced. We gave the provider 72 hours’ notice of the inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure they were in. The inspection involved inspecting the service against all five of the questions we ask about services: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection visit we looked at the information we had received about the service. We looked at the notifications we had received. Notifications are information about important events that the provider is required to tell us about by law. We also used information the provider sent to us in their Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send to us at least once each year, that gives key information about the service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We made telephone calls and spoke with eight people who received a service and nine relatives. We met with the provider’s area manager, the registered manager and a care coordinator. We made telephone calls to a further four members of staff. We received feedback from two healthcare professionals. We have included their feedback and comments in the main body of this report.

We looked at four people’s care records, medicine records, staff recruitment files, staff training records, quality assurance audits and action plans, records of meetings with staff and feedback from survey results, complaints records and other records relating to the monitoring and management of the service.

Updated 26 July 2018

We carried out a comprehensive inspection on 19 and 20 June 2018. Homecare 4U Bristol is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the Bristol area. The service is a domiciliary care agency. Not everyone using Homecare4U receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service provided personal care to 50 people.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection in April 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

We received positive feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. They told us they felt safe with the care of staff who worked for Homecare4U. People told us they usually had the same staff team supporting them. This meant that staff got to know people well.

There were enough staff to make sure people received the care needed. People and relatives told us care staff were generally on time. The provider had an effective system in place to monitor staffing levels and make sure they were sufficient to provide the personal care and support people needed.

Staff received supervision and training to ensure they could meet people’s needs.

Medicines were safely managed and checks in place to identify and act on shortfalls.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding and whistle-blowing and knew how to report concerns.

People were helped to exercise support and control over their lives. People were supported to consent to care and make decisions. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 had been followed.

Risk assessments and risk management plans were in place. Incidents and accidents were recorded and showed that actions were taken to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

Staff were kind and caring. People were being treated with dignity and respect and people’s privacy was maintained.

Systems were in place for monitoring quality and safety. Where improvements were needed the provider took action to address identified shortfalls.