Faiths Care

Updated 5 September 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 between 3 and 9 July 2018 and was announced.

The provider was given 48 hours' notice of the inspection because the service provided was domiciliary care in people's own homes and we needed to make sure the right people would be available to answer our queries.

We visited the office location to meet with the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We also visited the homes of two people who used the service and met with them and the staff who supported them. We telephoned staff and people who used the service and their families to ask them their views about the quality of the support they received.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, and their expertise was in the care of older people. The expert by experience telephoned 9 people who used the service.

During our visit, we met with the registered manager, who was also the director of the company. We also met with the general manager and the field care supervisor. These three senior staff are referred to in the report as the ‘management team’. We had contact or met with six care staff. We also spoke with two health and social care professionals for feedback about the service.

As part of the inspection, we reviewed a range of information about the service. This included a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form completed by the registered manager to evidence how they are providing care and any improvements they plan to make. We also looked at safeguarding alerts and statutory notifications, which related to the service. Statutory notifications include information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law.

We looked at three care records for people who used the service. We also looked at further records relating to the management of the service, including recruitment records and systems to monitor the quality of the care people received.

Updated 5 September 2018

This comprehensive inspection was completed on 3 and 9 July 2018 and was announced.

Faiths Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. These include older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. At this inspection, there were 35 people being supported by Faiths Care.

At the previous inspection in November 2016 the service was rated requires improvement overall and we found five breaches of the regulations. This was because the service did not ensure that people had care plans in place that were up to date and held the right information. The service had not ensured that medicines were dispensed and recorded properly. People did not always have access to the services' complaints procedure and could not be confident that their complaints would be dealt with to their satisfaction. There was not always sufficient staff to care for the people who used the service and to enable the provider to run the service effectively.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the service to at least good. The provider sent us an action plan after the inspection outlining the actions they were taking in response to our concerns.

At this inspection we found the necessary improvements had been made and the service has been rated good overall.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

The registered manager had recruited a new general manager and field care supervisor since our last visit. This management team worked extremely well together and were key to the improvements at the service. Staff were enthusiastic and committed and people gave us positive feedback about the service they received. The registered manager had extremely high standards and expectations. There were regular checks on the quality of the care provided and the management team dealt with poor practice promptly. They used information from feedback and mistakes in a positive way to improve the care provided. This was a relatively new service and the registered manager was still developing formal systems to log and analyse themes over time.

People’s safety was a priority and they received consistent support from staff who knew them well. Improved recruitment practices and well organised rotas meant staff were not rushed. They had good information about people’s individual needs and guidance about how to minimise risk. Good communication and planning meant people continued to receive safe care when their usual care staff were not available.

The registered manager ensured any risks from the spread of infection were minimised by requiring staff to have scrupulous cleaning practices. People received their medicines safely and were encouraged to remain independent in this area where possible. Staff had clear guidance about any specific risks when supporting people with their medicines.

There was an effective and established staff team who had the necessary skills to keep people safe. Training had improved, and staff were well supported and monitored. Staff enabled people to make choices and remain in control of the decisions around their care. People were supported to eat and drink in line with their preferences and needs. The management team and care staff communicated well with outside professionals and were committed to supporting people to remain healthy and access outside services where required.

Staff had enough time to care for people and develop compassionate relationships with them and their families. People’s wellbeing was a priority staff communicated with them to ensure their views shaped the support they received. Staff upheld people rights and provided care which was dignified and respectful.

The support provided was person-centred and flexible, taking into account peoples’ preferences and individual circumstances. Care plans had been revised to provide clear guidance to staff. People’s care needs were regularly reviewed and plans amended as required. People felt able to complain and be confident their views would be listened to and acted on. They benefitted from the improved culture at the service which supported them to speak out and provide feedback.