Archived: Nobilis Suffolk

Updated 29 July 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 team consisted of an inspector and four Expert by Experiences. 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.

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 meant they and the provider were legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of this inspection there was a registered manager in post. They oversaw the running of both the Suffolk and Norfolk offices. They were supported by a manager who was based in the Norfolk branch. This was being operated as a satellite branch and came under the registration of Nobilis-Suffolk. The provider had submitted to CQC an application to register the Norfolk service as a separate location and with a new manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or management would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 15 June 2022 when we visited the office. Telephone calls were made offsite to people who used the service, relatives and staff. We had a face to face meeting via Teams with management on 6 July 2022 and ended on 14 July 2022 when we gave feedback.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed our systems and information we held about the service. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with twenty six people who used the service and sixteen relatives about their experience of Nobilis-Suffolk.

We spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s nominated individual, the manager of the Norfolk branch and seven staff. We received electronic feedback from eight members of staff, two relatives and the local authority commissioning team who work with the service.

We reviewed a range of records which included risk assessments, medication records for ten people and six staff records. We also viewed some of the provider’s policies and procedures, training data, quality assurance records, management monitoring and oversight records.

Updated 29 July 2022

Nobilis -Suffolk is a domiciliary care service providing care to people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

Where they do receive personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection there were 102 people who used the service who received personal care. Nobilis-Suffolk provides a service to people who live in Suffolk and from their satellite branch in Norwich where they also cover areas in Norfolk.

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

Overall people and their relatives were complimentary about their experience with Nobilis-Suffolk and would recommend the service. One person told us, “I would recommend this agency, because the staff are understanding, respectful; always a smile on their faces.”

The management and staff worked in partnership with people, relatives and other professionals to achieve person-centred care and good outcomes for people.

Risks to people had been assessed and were managed safely. People were supported by a staff team who were safely recruited, trained and knew how to protect them from potential harm.

Staff felt supported and valued in their role by the management team and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People received their care visits at the times they expected, for the length of time agreed, and from staff they knew.

People received their medication as prescribed and staff adhered to infection prevention and control procedures in line with legislative requirements and recognised best practice guidelines.

People's care records were re-assessed regularly and guided staff on how to assist people safely and encourage their independence.

People's communication needs were detailed in their care plans. Care plans also detailed people's preferences of support, for example, gender of staff. Staff understood equality and diversity and ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected.

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people. 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.

People and relatives felt able to raise any issues with the staff and management team and were confident these would be addressed.

Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place.

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

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered with us on 14 April 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.