Dover

Updated 31 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, 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 team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type:

Meridian Community Care (Dover) is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people

living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to adults who require personal care and or social

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.

Notice of inspection:

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.

Inspection site visit activity started on 15 May 2019 and ended on 16 May 2019. We visited the office location on 15 May 2019 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. On the 16 May we spoke to staff members by phone.

What we did:

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included

details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We assessed the information we

require providers to send us to give key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we reviewed a range of records including, notifications we received from the service, completed surveys from people who used the service and audits and quality assurance reports.

We looked at two people's care records and associated risk assessments. We visited two people who use the service and one relative in their homes. We spoke with the registered manager, office manager, care co-ordinator and three care staff. We observed staff spending time with people and interactions with them on the telephone.

Updated 31 May 2019

About the service: Meridian Community Care Dover is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection the agency was supporting 15 people, only 10 were receiving personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care, where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by caring and compassionate staff who knew them well. People were involved in planning their care, initially through a comprehensive assessment which was followed by regular reviews.

Staff build positive relationships with people and their loved ones. Loved ones told us that staff ensured they were well too and provided a support for them.

People’s care plans gave staff clear guidance about how to meet their needs in the way they preferred. This included information about the support people required with eating and drinking. Staff supported people to stay well and contacted health professionals when required. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and they had the training and support required to carry out their roles. People were supported to maintain or regain their independence. Staff were flexible and took on additional tasks for people, such as changing light bulbs or collecting prescriptions.

There was a complaints procedure in place, no complaints had been received since the last inspection. There was a clear vision and set of values at the service which focussed on people getting high quality care the way they wanted it. People, relatives and staff told us they could always contact the office and get help or support when they needed it. The registered manager stayed up to date with changes in practice and legislation by accessing relevant websites. Regular audits were completed, and feedback was sought from people and professionals. Any shortfalls were used for learning and shared with staff.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Published November 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. We found the service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas. The rating continues to be Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service.