Stocks Home Care Services

Updated 8 November 2017

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.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 21 September 2017 and it was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We needed to be sure someone would be there who could provide us with the information we needed.

The inspection team consisted of two Adult Social Care Inspectors and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is someone who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. This expert-by-experience had experience of caring for older people and people living with a dementia related illness.

Prior to this inspection we looked at all the information we held about this service, including information that the provider had told us about, such as significant events. We also listened to what people had to tell us, such as those who used the service, relatives and staff members. We also received feedback from local commissioners about the service provided by Stocks Home Care Services.

The provider had sent us their Provider Information Return [PIR] within the timeframes requested. A PIR gives us key information about the service and tells us about improvements they intend to make.

The methods we used for gathering evidence included speaking with 11 people who used the service and their relatives, visiting two people in the community, interviewing staff and pathway tracking. Pathway tracking enables us to establish if people are receiving the care and support they need.

We looked at a wide range of records, including the care files of ten people who used the service and the personnel records of four staff members. Other records we saw included a variety of policies and procedures, medication records and quality monitoring systems.

Updated 8 November 2017

This inspection visit took place on 21 September 2017 and was announced.

Stocks Home Care is a domiciliary care service, which provides personal care for adults who live in their own homes. The service caters for older people, as well as those with a physical disability or sensory impairment and also those who are living with a dementia related illness. The home care service is based in well-equipped offices in a residential area of Skelmersdale. The service currently supports 272 people in the community and 90 care staff are presently appointed.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

Stocks Home Care Service maintains a consistent ‘good’ rating and was found to be meeting all the relevant fundamental standards on this occasion.

At the time of our inspection a manager was in post, who was in the process of registration with the Care Quality Commission. She was available and co-operative throughout the inspection process, during which she demonstrated openness and transparency. Since the inspection the manager has completed registration and is now the registered manager of Stocks Homecare Services. 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 we spoke with told us they were happy and felt safe using the services of Stocks Home Care. Practices adopted by the service, such as recruitment and safeguarding helped to protect people from harm. Detailed assessments provided good guidance for staff about how health care risks could be minimised and we found that medicines were being well managed. This helped to ensure people were kept safe.

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 systems of the service supported this practice.

Induction programmes for new employees had recently been reviewed and more substantial ones had been subsequently introduced. Records showed that personal development for staff was an important aspect of the organisations ethos. This was supported by regular supervisions, annual appraisals and a varied training programme for all those who were employed. This helped to ensure that the staff team was knowledgeable, competent and confident to deliver the care and support which people needed.

People told us their care workers were kind and caring. They confirmed that their privacy and dignity was respected at all times and that they were supported to maintain their independence, as far as possible. Records we saw supported this information. Specific training had been arranged for the staff team in relation to end of life care. This helped staff to support people in a compassionate manner during the last days of their lives.

Complaints were being well managed and people told us they were offered appropriate choices and that their preferences were considered and respected at all times. The new manager was making good progress with the development of the care planning system, so that a more person centred approach was adopted. This helped to ensure that people received the care and support relevant to their individual health and social care needs.

Systems had been implemented so that the quality of service provided could be closely monitored, to ensure that people were receiving the care and support they required. These were in the form of audits, surveys and risk assessments. Records showed that people had been asked for their views about the service they received and meetings for staff were held at regular intervals, so that they could express their views about the quality of care delivered and the support received by staff.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.