Background to this inspection
Updated
10 June 2023
Inspection team
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.
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 provider a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers 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 prior to completing our inspection.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We conducted telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
Inspection activity started on 24 January 2023 and ended on 27 March 2023. We reviewed a range of records related to two people’s care and support. This included people’s care plans and risk assessments. We also reviewed records relating to the registered manager’s training. We reviewed records related to the management of the service, which included quality assurance records and a range of policies and procedures.
We spoke with the registered manager for the service. We also spoke with one person using the service and the other person’s relative.
Updated
10 June 2023
About the service
Better Support Staffing is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service provides personal care to older people. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider did not always effectively manage risks to people’s health and safety. Although the registered manager was the only person providing care and knew people’s needs well, care records did not always clearly identify risks to people’s care. The provider was not consistently safe in the management of people’s medicines. Although the registered manager knew people’s needs well, their medicines care plan was not completely clear on the side effects associated with people’s medicines.
The provider conducted audits, but these did not identify the issues we found in relation to people’s risk assessments and their medicines care plans.
People’s needs and choices were assessed as part of the assessment process, and the provider supported people with their healthcare needs.
The registered manager had the skills, knowledge and experience to provide people with care. They had a good understanding of how to support other staff in providing people with care and told us they were in the process of hiring another staff member to support people.
The provider promoted a positive culture within the service. The registered manager sought and acted on people’s feedback and people confirmed they felt comfortable in addressing any concerns with them directly.
The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities to ensure people were safe from the risk of abuse and took appropriate measures to prevent and control infection. There was also an appropriate system in place to manage accidents and incidents.
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 told us they were well treated and supported and their care records included details of their backgrounds, ethnicity and religions. People told us their privacy and dignity was respected and promoted and they were encouraged to maintain their independence as far as possible.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk .
Rating at last inspection:
We registered this service on 23 December 2021 and this was the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Recommendations
We have made recommendations in relation to managing risks to people’s care, medicines management and good governance. We will check if the provider has acted on the recommendations at our next comprehensive inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.