Severn Vale Home Care Worcester

Updated 23 June 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

One inspector carried out a site visit and 2 Experts by Experience made calls to people and relatives. 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 07 June 2023 and ended on 12 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 07 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about 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 2 people who used the service and 9 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, senior staff, care staff and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records, including 3 people's care records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support and a range of records relating to how the service operated and was managed.

Updated 23 June 2023

About the service

Good Oaks Homecare Worcester is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people, people living with dementia, mental ill health, sensory impairments or physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people receiving personal care from the service. 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

Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm. Risk assessments for people and their homes were in place. Staff were recruited safely and received the training needed to provide safe care. Medicines were administered safely.

People received effective care from staff who received a detailed induction. Care plans contained enough detail for care to be provided. Managers ensured staff were competent and confident in their roles, so people received safe care.

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 received care which was person centred. Staff knew the people they supported well and took time to ensure their needs were being met. Feedback from people and their relatives was used to improve the care provided.

Staff were responsive to the needs of each individual. They spent time getting to know people so they could understand how to communicate with them. Complaints were well manged and responded to in a timely way.

The service was well managed. The management team had good oversight of the care being provided. They used a range of tools such as audits to continually develop and improve the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 13 January 2021, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide a rating for the service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.