Updated 14 December 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 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 homes. At the time of the inspection there were 30 people receiving support.
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. At the time of the inspection the registered manager was on maternity leave, so the inspection was facilitated by the acting manager and a director.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to ensure someone would be available at the office to facilitate the inspection and arrange visits to some people in their own homes.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed statutory notifications and safeguarding referrals. We liaised with external professionals including the local authority commissioning team. We reviewed previous inspection reports and other information we held about the service.
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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with six members of staff including two directors, the acting manager, the administrator and two carers. We also spoke with a relative who had called into the office. We visited two people in their own homes and spoke with them and their relatives.
We reviewed a range of records including four care files held in the office and two held in people’s homes. We also looked at personnel files for four staff members. We reviewed policies and procedures, training records, audits, meeting minutes and other records relevant to the running of the service.
After the inspection
We spoke with a further two relatives by telephone to gain their views of the service.