Background to this inspection
Updated
6 March 2019
The inspection:
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was carried out by one adult social care 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 in the community.
Notice of inspection:
This inspection was announced and took place on 5 Febuary 2019. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection site visit to ensure the registered manager would be present and to ensure people's consent was gained for us to contact them for their feedback.
What we did:
We used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send to us at least once annually to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at information we held about the service, including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example, the local authority and members of the public.
During the inspection, we spoke with five relatives to ask about their experience of the care delivered. We spoke with the registered manager who is also the provider. We also spoke with the deputy manager, the care co-ordinator, one senior carer and two care staff.
We looked at the care records for six people, three staff employment related records and records relating to the quality and management of the service.
Details are in the Key Questions below.
Updated
6 March 2019
About the service:
Special Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection it was providing care to 45 people.
People's experience of using this service:
People were safe in their home and there were enough staff to fulfil the visits to people.
People received the medicines they needed safely.
Staff understood their responsibilities about keeping people safe.
Risks were identified and managed well. Incidents and accidents were monitored to inform practice and make improvements to the service.
Staff understood their responsibilities to prevent the spread of infection whilst working between people's homes.
Staff had received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles well. People had confidence in the staff and were content with the care they received.
Care plan information focused on a person-centred method of supporting people. Information contained what support was required and consent to care forms had been signed by people who received a service from Special Care Services.
Risks associated with nutritional needs were identified and managed. People received the support they needed to have a healthy diet.
People were supported to access health care services when they needed to. Staff described positive working relationships with health care professionals.
Staff supported people to remain independent and promoted their dignity. People's privacy was respected and their personal information was kept securely.
There was a clear management structure that supported staff well.
Governance arrangements were embedded within practice. Regular audits identified any shortfalls in provision of care.
More information is in the full report.
Rating at last inspection: Good (published 27 August 2016).
Why we inspected:
This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous ratings.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.