Blossom Home Care Durham

Updated 21 May 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an 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 homes.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short notice period of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 15 March 2022 and ended on 6 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 15 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they were registered with us. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

An Expert by Experience spoke with four people who use the service and six relatives on 23 March 2022. We spoke with the nominated individual who was also one of the franchise owners. A nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We spoke with the service manager, office manager, recruitment manager, the franchise manager and one homecare worker.

We reviewed four people's care plans and risk assessments, medicines records, three staff recruitment files, quality monitoring records and COVID-19 risk assessments.

After the inspection

We received feedback from four staff members. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at staff training, mental capacity assessments and complaints records.

Updated 21 May 2022

Blossom Home Care Durham is a new service registered to provide support to people living in their own homes in County Durham. The service is registered to provide personal care to younger and older people, people living with sensory impairments, people living with dementia, people living with mental health issues, people living with physical disabilities and people living with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder.

Not everyone using Blossom Home Care Durham receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care.' This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. On the day of our inspection Blossom Home Care Durham were supporting 24 people with the regulated activity of 'personal care.'

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

People and relatives spoke positively about Blossom Home Care Durham. People said they felt safe with the staff who supported them. People said they received good care from a consistent staff team who arrived on time, were professional and communicated effectively. People and relatives said staff were king and caring and promoted people’s independence in a safe way.

Risks were identified and managed appropriately. Recruitment procedures were values-based and robust. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and people were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had been trained in infection prevention and control and used personal protective equipment to help keep people safe.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to carry out their role effectively. Staff training in relevant areas was up to date.

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 expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture. People were provided with the right support which enabled them to make choices and promoted their independence. People received the right care that was provided in a person-centred way which promoted their dignity. The service provided the right culture for people in an environment where they were included and empowered by care staff.

Care records were person-centred and reflected people's current needs. People were involved in decisions about their care. Staff were aware of people's communication needs and how best to support them. People's concerns and complaints were dealt with promptly and lessons were learnt where appropriate.

People's views and opinions of the service were sought and acted on. People told us the service was well managed. Effective systems were in place to monitor the quality of care and support provided. We found the management team receptive to feedback and keen to improve and develop the service. The management team worked with us in a positive manner and provided all the information we requested.

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 8 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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