Burlington Home Care

Updated 10 February 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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 16 November 2022 and ended on 05 December 2022. We visited the location’s office on 16 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with 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 11 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, care manager and 9 care workers. We reviewed a range of care records and medicines records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 10 February 2023

About the service

Burlington Home Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to younger adults, older people and people who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 61 people using the service. 33 people received a regulated activity.

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

Governance systems in place had not identified shortfalls in some records relating to the management of medicines, induction and risk management. The provider was in the process of transferring care records on to an outcome-based care planning system to support records to be more detailed and reflective of people’s needs.

Medicines were managed safely, however records to support medicines administration required further detail. Care plans and risk assessments did not always contain sufficient detail.

Procedures were in place for the management of spread of infection, however these were not always followed. The registered manager started to address this during the inspection.

Recruitment checks were carried out. People received their required care and the provider had a system in place to monitor late calls and prevent missed calls. Staff received induction and supervision and felt the management team were approachable and supportive.

People received support with their nutrition when appropriate. People were positive about the support they received from staff, reminding them to keep hydrated and healthy. If people needed support with accessing health care services staff supported this.

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 were supported by kind and caring staff, who respected their privacy and dignity.

Although care plans did not always contain sufficient person-centred information, staff knew people well and people were happy with the support they received. The provider had a complaints procedure in place. People felt confident to raise concerns and the registered manager monitored concerns and complaints.

People and staff felt engaged in the running of the service and staff felt it was a good company to work for.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, (published on 3 March 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to the recording of peoples medicines, and record keeping at the service.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.