Woodford Homecare

Updated 17 July 2019

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 completed by an inspector, an assistant inspector 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 homes.

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 service over 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 05 June 2019 and ended on 06 June 2019. We visited the office location on 06 June 2019.

What we did before the inspection

As part of the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked to see if statutory notifications had been sent by the provider. A statutory notification contains information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also reviewed information that had been sent to us by the public. We used this information to help us plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with sixteen people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the provider, managing director, deputy manager and operations manager. The registered manager was on annual leave so was not available during the inspection. We also spoke with four care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, recruitment information and quality assurance records.

Updated 17 July 2019

About the service

Woodford Homecare is domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 55 people using the service; many of whom were older people living with dementia.

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

While the provider had developed high quality systems and processes; they had not always ensured these systems were followed. Quality assurance systems were not effective in identifying where systems and processes had not been followed. The provider took steps to address the concerns raised within 24 hours of the inspection.

People were protected from the risk of harm including potential abuse. Risks to people from potential accident, injury and health concerns were managed effectively. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff. The provider had developed high quality values based recruitment practices. The provider had also invested in good quality training and induction programmes. They were committed to ensuring the staff team had the skills required to support people effectively.

People’s needs were assessed effectively; including any personal goals or outcomes they wanted to work towards. The provider ensured people’s care was delivered in line with current guidelines and legislation. People were supported to live their day to day lives as healthily as possible. People were supported to gain access to healthcare professionals in a timely way.

People were supported by a staff team who were committed to providing high quality, person-centred care. Care staff were kind and caring towards people and promoted their dignity and independence. People received support based on their individuals needs and preferences. People were fully involved in developing their care and support packages.

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.

The provider had developed an open, honest and transparent culture within the service. People were able to raise complaints and concerns if needed and the provider actively sought people’s feedback about the service. The provider was committed to continually developing the service and making ongoing improvements to ensure people received high quality care.

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 (report published 13 October 2016).

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.