Background to this inspection
Updated
6 October 2015
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.
The inspection took place on 25 August 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to meet with us at their office. The inspection was conducted by one inspector.
We had not asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, the registered manager gave us all the information we requested during the inspection. We did not conduct an initial survey of people who used the service, because we did not have their contact details in advance of our visit to their office. The manager gave us a list of contact details during our visit so we were able to phone people after our visit to their office.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at information received from relatives and from the local authority commissioners. The registered manager had not sent us any statutory notifications during the previous 12 months, because no notifiable events had occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority.
We spoke by telephone with four people who used the service, three relatives of people who used the service and four members of care staff. We spoke face to face with the registered manager and the team leader. We reviewed four people’s care plans and daily records, to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We checked whether staff were recruited safely and trained to deliver care and support appropriate to each person’s needs. We reviewed records of the checks the management team made to assure themselves people received a quality service.
Updated
6 October 2015
We inspected this service on 25 August 2015. The inspection was announced. The service delivers personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 22 people were receiving the service.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they felt safe with all of their care staff. The provider had taken measures to minimise risks to people’s safety. Staff were trained in safeguarding and understood the action they should take if they had any concerns that people were at risk of harm. The registered manager checked staff’s suitability to deliver personal care in people’s own homes during the recruitment process.
People’s care plans included risk assessments for their health and wellbeing and explained the actions staff should take to minimise the identified risks. Staff understood people’s needs and abilities by reading care plans and shadowing experienced staff when they started working for the service.
The registered manager assessed risks in each individual person’s home and advised staff of the actions they should take to minimise the risks. The provider’s medicines policy included training staff and checking that people received their medicines as prescribed, to ensure people’s medicines were administered safely.
Staff received training and support that enabled them to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff had opportunities to reflect on and improve their practice and to consider their own career development.
The manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Records showed that people, their families and other health professionals were involved in making decisions about their care and support. Staff understood they could only care for and support people who consented to being cared for.
Staff referred people to other health professionals for advice and support when their health needs changed and supported people to follow the health professionals’ advice.
The provider asked people about their preferences for care during their initial assessment of needs. Staff supported the same people regularly so they learnt about people’s like dislikes and preferences for care. The registered manager regularly delivered care and support, so they maintained an ongoing relationship with each person.
People told us their care staff were kind and respected their privacy, dignity and independence and said their care staff felt like their friends.
People knew any concerns would be listened to and action taken to resolve any issues. Records showed the provider learnt from complaints and adopted policies to minimise the risk of similar complaints in the future.
People were encouraged to share their opinions about the quality of the service during visits by the registered manager and team leader, at regular reviews of their care plans and through formal surveys.
The staff and management team shared common values about the aims and objectives of the service. People were supported and encouraged to live as independently as possible, according to their needs and abilities.
The provider’s quality monitoring system included regular checks of people’s care plans and staff’s practice. When issues were identified the provider took action to improve the quality of the service.