Background to this inspection
Updated
15 September 2016
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 between 5 and 10 August 2016. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our visit to the service on 5 August because we needed to ensure that they would be available in the service to speak with us. One adult social care inspector undertook the inspection.
Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We reviewed the information we held about this location and the service provider. For example, the inspection history and any complaints and notifications received. Notifications are events that the registered provider has a legal duty to inform us about.
During our inspection we visited and spoke with three people who received a personal care service. We looked at the care records of three people who used the service and observed how staff interacted with people during our visit.
We spoke with the registered manager, area manager, and three care workers. We also looked at a selection of staff records and other management records relating to the running of the service.
During the inspection we visited three properties where care was provided and spoke with people who lived there and the staff who worked in each house. We also contacted people who used the service and their relatives using questionnaires.
We also contacted local social work and commissioning teams to obtain their views about the service.
Updated
15 September 2016
We carried out this announced inspection between the 5 and 10 August 2016.
At the time of our inspection there were 45 people receiving personal care from this service.
There was a registered manager employed. 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 told us they felt safe at the service. Staff were confident about how to protect people from harm and what they would do if they had any safeguarding concerns.
There were good systems in place to make sure that people were supported to take medicines safely and as prescribed.
Risks to people had been assessed and plans put in place to keep risks to a minimum. An ‘out of hours’ service was in place so that people could contact a member of staff in an emergency.
There were enough staff on duty to make sure people’s needs were met.
The provider had robust recruitment procedures to make sure staff had the required skills and
were of suitable character and background.
Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and that there was good team work. Staff were supported through training, regular supervisions and team meetings to help them carry out their roles effectively.
Staff were supported by an open and accessible management team. They reported significant improvements to all areas of the running of the service since the new registered manager and location manager’s had taken been reorganised.
People told us that staff were caring and that their privacy and dignity were respected. People were treated with kindness and respect.
Care plans were person centred and showed that individual preferences were taken into account. The staff knew people well and knew how to provide their support. This meant people received personalised care.
People were supported to maintain their health and to access health services if needed.
The focus of the service was on promoting people’s rights and independence. People were given opportunities to gain skills to increase their independence. They made choices about their lives and the decisions they made were respected.
Where people were not able to make important decisions about their lives the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were followed to protect their rights.
There were effective management arrangements in place. The registered manager had a good oversight of the service and was aware of areas of practice that needed to be improved. There were systems in place to look at the quality of the service provided and action was taken where shortfalls were identified.
A recommendation was made to review how medicines were managed in people’s home.
We made a recommendation that the service reviewed the way it shared confidential information with staff.