Choices Homecare (Bolton and Bury)

Mayday Homecare is a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) providing a service to older and younger adults, some of whom may have dementia, with varying levels of personal care needs. Staff provided care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting 530 people. 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

People and relatives reported feeling safe and cared for by 'polite', 'respectful' and 'caring' staff. Some people told us their call times had been irregular, which sometimes impacted on their ‘timed medication’. Some staff said they didn’t always have enough time to travel between their calls.

We discussed this with the management team, who implemented new systems to improve these issues.

We have made two recommendations that the provider continues to embed these new systems.

Risks to people’s safety were assessed and staff had clear guidance on how best to support people. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and follow safeguarding processes. Recruitment systems were robust and staff received appropriate training.

The provider had effective auditing and oversight systems in place. People and relatives knew who to contact if they had any concerns. Care records evidenced a person-centred culture and staff understood how to support people as individuals and with any cultural needs. Staff felt supported by the management team. The provider informed the relevant bodies and people when things went wrong.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was good (published 24/08/2019)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to communication between management, people and relatives and staffing levels. We also received concerns relating to the management of medicines, infection control practice and people not being involved in the setting up of initial care plans and assessments. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Mayday Homecare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

This service is a domiciliary care agency that provides support to people in their own homes. It provides a service to younger and older adults, people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, learning disabilities or dementia. The provider has two domiciliary care agencies within their registration. The service's office is based in Bolton, and support is provided to people in surrounding areas. At the time of the inspection it was providing a service to 508 people who were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this. One person told us, “Mayday are an excellent company. The carers are exemplary with good manners. I would recommend them for sure.”

Medicines systems were organised and people were receiving their medicines when they should. The service was following safe protocols for the administration of medicines.

People told us staff were kind, courteous and sensitive. One person said, “The carers are very helpful, friendly and caring. Always treat me with kindness.”

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.

Most people felt the carers arrived on time to deliver their care, and if the carer was delayed people were informed of this. A relative commented, “The care company are very good. Generally, they [carers] are on time, they can be a bit late sometimes, but we accept that. They ring us and let us know”. However, some people told us they were not always informed if their care visit was going to be later than planned. We fed this back to the registered manager, who told us this will be addressed with the teams

The service was well led. Person-centred care was promoted and people told us the staff knew them well and responded to their needs in a person-centred way.

Governance and quality assurance systems used provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service.

Staff spoke positively about how the service was managed and one staff member told us, “We are happy working here, we are like a family. We have a lot of support from [Name of registered manager], they are here every day.”

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was good (published 9 January 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.

Mayday provides domiciliary care services to people living in their own home. The service is registered to provide personal care for adults. The office is situated in Bolton, close to the town centre, parking is limited. The service provides care to people in Bolton and Bury.

The 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager is supported by a team of divisional managers, senior staff and administration staff. The registered manager was present throughout the inspection.

At the last inspection carried out in May 2013, we did not identify concerns with the quality of care provided by the service. This is the first rated inspection of this service under the Care Quality Commission (CQC) new way of inspecting. .

The majority of people we spoke with told us they felt safe with their regular carers. However some people were unhappy with the weekend carers who they did not know coming in to their home.

Satisfactory recruitment procedures were in place. This helped to ensure that people who used the service were cared for by people who were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

We found the service had suitable safeguarding procedures in place to help protect people from the risk of abuse. Staff spoken with demonstrated an understanding of safeguarding and were aware of the whistleblowing procedures.

The care files we looked at had sufficient information to guide staff on the care and daily living tasks to be provided by staff. We saw risk assessments were in place and were reviewed as required.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and any actions required were documented.

New staff undertook an induction programme which included a period of both classroom based and practical training as shadowing experienced staff.

Staff training was on-going. We found that a small number of staff who had recently transferred (TUPE) from one business to Mayday had gaps in their training. This was being addressed by the registered manager.

We looked at staff supervision and annual appraisal records and spoke with staff about the supervision they received.

People who used the service told us the staff were kind and caring and respected their dignity and privacy.

We found that before any care was provided, the service obtained written consent from the person who used the service or their representative.

There was a complaints procedure in place. We found that complaints had been dealt with appropriately and responses and action were recorded.

The service undertook a comprehensive range of checks to monitor the quality of the service delivery. Satisfaction questionnaires were sent out at regular intervals to gain people’s view and opinions about the service they received.

Staff spoken with told us they felt support by their divisional managers and by the registered manager.

Providers are required by law to notify CQC of certain events in the service such as serious injuries, deaths and safeguarding concerns. Records we looked confirmed the CQC had received the required notifications in a timely manner.

People we spoke told us. 'The service is very good and I am very happy with the care I receive'. Another person said, 'The staff are very good, there is a high degree of commitment'.

We saw written feedback from some people who used the service their comments included: 'The standard of care is very good'.

'Staff are polite and well mannered'.

'Very satisfied with the level of care..

Staff spoken with told us, It's a brilliant agency to work for , I have no concerns'.

Staff we spoke with confirmed they received regular training relevant to their role. They told us they had supervision sessions which included spot checks and appraisals.

Staff said they felt supported by the registered manager and their area managers.