Right Care (Lancashire) Limited

Updated 24 January 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.

This inspection took place on 4 and 5 January 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

In preparation for our visit, we checked the information we held about the service and the provider. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the registered provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The inspection was informed by feedback from questionnaires sent from us to 39 people using the service and to 39 relatives; we received 19 completed questionnaires from people using the service and four from relatives. Seven questionnaires were sent to community professional staff with one returned. Following the inspection we received positive feedback from a community professional.

We visited the office location to meet with the registered provider and the manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and the way the service was managed. These included the care records and medicine administration records for four people, three staff recruitment files, staff training, supervision and appraisal records, minutes from meetings, quality assurance audits, incident and accident reports, complaints and compliments records and records relating to the management of the service. We also spoke with two care workers during our visit to the agency office.

Following the visit to the agency office we spoke with four people using the service, two relatives and three staff over the telephone.

Updated 24 January 2018

The inspection visit took place on 4 and 5 January 2018 and was announced.

At our last inspection on 8 October 2015 we found there were no breaches of legal requirements and the service was rated good. At this inspection, we found the service remained good.

Right Care (Lancashire) Limited is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Burnley and the surrounding areas. The service is mainly provided to older people with needs relating to old age, including dementia. The agency office is situated close to the town centre on the edge of a residential estate and is easily accessible to both staff and people using the service.

People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for people supported in their own homes; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. At the time of the visit there were 68 people who used the service.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is domiciliary care service and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

At the time of the inspection the service did not have a registered manager. A new manager had been employed from October 2017 and an application to register them with CQC had been forwarded. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People using the service consistently told us they felt safe and staff were caring and treated them well. They told us staff were like their family and they trusted them implicitly. People told us they had consistency of staff, which helped them to feel safe. Safeguarding procedures were in place and staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Potential risks to people's safety and wellbeing had been assessed and managed. People received their medicines safely.

Staff were recruited following a safe process. People received care and support from a consistent team of staff with whom they were familiar. Staff arrived on time and stayed for the full time allocated. People spoke positively about the staff that supported them and told us they were always treated with care, respect and kindness. Staff had developed good relationships with people and were familiar with their needs, routines and preferences.

Staff had sufficient knowledge and skills to meet people's needs effectively. New staff completed an induction programme and all staff were provided with regular mandatory training, supervision and support. Staff felt they were supported by the management team and told us they enjoyed working for the agency.

People were involved in the development and review of their care plans and were involved in any discussions and decisions about their care. Staff had clear and up to date information about people’s needs and wishes and there were systems in place to respond when their needs changed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and procedures supported this practice.

People were supported with their healthcare needs as appropriate. People were supported with their dietary needs in line with their care plan. Staff supported people to access the local community and to pursue their leisure interests in line with their care plan.

People had no complaints about the service they received or about the staff that provided their care and support; they were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to should they raise any concerns.

People made positive comments about the leadership and management of the agency. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service and people’s feedback was sought and acted upon in relation to the standard of care and support.