Updated 15 September 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.
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 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
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.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at all the information we held about the provider including information they sent us when they were registered with us. We also looked at reviews people had posted online about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
Inspection activity started on 8 August 2022 and ended on 16 August. We visited the location’s office on 10 August. We spoke with the registered manager and viewed a range of records. This included three people's care and risk management plans and care records. We saw three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, meeting records and procedures. After our visit we spoke with one person and three relatives of people who use the service and three care staff. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.