Neighbourhood Care HQ

Updated 17 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

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 houses and flats.

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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and 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 September 2022 and ended on 16 September 2022. We visited the location’s office on these dates.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten staff members which included the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We spoke with eight people who used the service and five relatives. We received feedback from one health and social care professional. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care and medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and audits were reviewed.

Updated 17 November 2022

About the service

Neighbourhood Care HQ is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service operates in Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge areas of Somerset. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People received safe, consistent, reliable care. People’s support was delivered on time and there were no missed visits. Staff were supported well by managers and an out of hours on call system.

There was a positive staff culture, led by an experienced and dedicated management team. Staff were proud to work for the organisation and were valued and appreciated. Staff were recruited safely and were supported by an induction, supervision and training programme which enabled staff to develop and continually learn.

People were supported by kind, caring staff who were skilled and knowledgeable. People told us staff treated them with respect and dignity. People’s privacy and independence was promoted.

Care plans and risk assessments were person centred. They gave clear information and guidance about how to support people safely and in their preferred way. People’s consent was always sought and respected.

The service was well led and managed. Systems were in place to monitor and review the quality of the service. There was an open and honest culture where people and staff were encouraged to raise and concerns or issues. Reflective practice took place. People and relatives’ feedback was sought and acted upon.

We received consistently positive feedback from people, relatives and staff about the way the service was managed, organised and the quality of care received.

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.

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 initially registered with CQC in 2011. The service changed its legal entity on 20 May 2021 and this is the first inspection under the new registration.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good published on 10 October 2019.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Neighbourhood Care HQ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.