Background to this inspection
Updated
29 February 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats within the community.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of Inspection
We gave the provider 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit. This was because we needed to make sure staff would be at the office to answer our questions and provide the information we required to carry out our inspection.
Before our inspection
The provider was asked to complete a Provider Information Return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager who was also the nominated individual, and one staff member. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.
Updated
29 February 2020
About the service
Care Services is a domiciliary care service which is registered to provide personal care to a range of people including, older people, people with disabilities and dementia. People using the service lived in their own homes within the community. At the time of our inspection 11 people received personal care and support from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received safe care and were cared for staff who had a good understanding of how to keep people safe. Staff recognised the signs of abuse and how to report it. Risks were assessed and monitored so staff knew what to do to keep people safe. The management team ensured accidents and incidents were reviewed and any lessons learnt completed.
People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were given choices and their consent was gained before providing support. Staff knew of people’s dietary needs. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when required.
People said they were treated with kindness and in a respectful way by the staff. People's privacy and dignity was maintained. Staff knew it was important to encourage people to maintain their independence. Staff actively encouraged the people to make choices about their care and support.
People were supported to communicate in their chosen style resulting in improved outcomes for people to make their own choices. Staff knew people well. People and their relatives said staff met people’s needs and encouraged independence.
Assessment and reviews of people’s care and support needs were undertaken regularly or more frequently when it was required. People and/or their relatives were included in these processes to ensure all needs were determined and addressed. People and their relatives knew how to raise concerns and would feel comfortable to do so.
People, relatives and staff spoke positively of the service and the registered manager. An electronic system had been implemented to prevent missed care calls. The registered manager who was also the provider, encouraged people and their relatives to use feedback processes available on their web-site. The registered manager agreed some improvement to quality auditing was needed and gave verbal assurance this would be addressed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 18 October 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.