Horizon Care & Welfare Association

Updated 29 March 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 is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection visit to the service took place on 1 March 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider five days’ notice to give them time to become available for the inspection. It was undertaken by a single inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has direct experience of care services.

Before our inspection we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR).The PIR contains information about the service and how it is managed by the provider. We reviewed this, as well as other information we held about the service such as statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are used by the provider to inform us about information such as safeguarding allegations and police incidents, as required by law. We also sent questionnaires to people using the service, their relatives, staff and professionals to gather their views on the service. We received responses from nine people who used the service, no staff and one relatives, friends or professionals. We reviewed all responses received as part of our inspection planning.

Three days before our inspection our expert by experience spoke with six people using the service and 12 relatives.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and two care workers who visited the service. We looked at five people’s care records to see how their care was planned, records relating to medicines management, three care staff files which contained recruitment supervision and appraisal documentation, training records and records relating to the management of the service.

After our inspection we contacted three professionals to request their feedback on the service although we did not receive any responses.

Updated 29 March 2018

Horizon Care & Welfare provides personal care to people in their own homes. People who used the agency included older people, younger adults with physical and mental health needs and children with disabilities. The service cared for people from all backgrounds. However, the service was part of a charity which was set up to support the Somalian community. Support provided included advice on welfare, housing, health plus interpreting services. In this way the service had strong links with the local community. There were 77 people using the service at the time of this inspection.

This inspection took place on 1 March 2018. We gave five days’ notice to the provider to ensure someone was available to assist us with the inspection.

We last inspected the service in January 2016 and found the provider was meeting the fundamental standards. We rated the service ‘Good’ overall.

The provider did not always assess risks to people’s care in line with best practice as part of doing all they could to reduce the risks. This meant written guidance for staff in reducing risks, such as those relating to medicines, infection control, falls, eating and drinking and behaviours which may challenge the service were lacking for some people. The provider did not always manage people’s medicines safely as systems were not in place to audit medicines records frequently to check people received their medicines as prescribed.

People felt safe with the staff who cared for them and there were systems in place safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment. There were enough staff deployed to care for people and the provider checked staff were suitable to work with people through recruitment checks.

Staff received the support they required to understand and meet people’s needs. The provider trained new staff with a suitable induction and an annual training programme. Staff received regular supervision with annual appraisal.

People were supported to maintain their health and with eating and drinking. People received care in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

The provider consulted with people as part of assessing their needs and also reviewed any professional reports. The provider developed care plans based on their assessments which guided staff about people and their needs. People were involved in decisions regarding their care.

Staff were caring and understood the people they cared for. Staff treated people with respect and maintained their privacy and dignity. Staff supported people to maintain their independence.

The complaints process in place remained suitable and people were confident the provider would respond appropriately to any concerns or complaints.

The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities. The provider had systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the service, although systems to check risk assessments and medicines management required improving.

The provider gathered feedback from people and relatives regarding the quality of care and carried out observations of staff to check they provided care at the expected standard. The provider communicated openly with staff and external professionals.