Hedgerow Homecare

Updated 6 July 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.

Our inspection of Hedgerow Homecare took place on 17 April 2019.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by a single inspector and an ‘expert by experience’ telephoned people using the service and relatives. An ‘expert by experience’ is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides support to adults living in their own homes. At the time of inspection 12 people were using the service and the registered manager informed us that there were three other people who had been referred recently for assessment.

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 it is a small service. We needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we spoke with two people using the service and five relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, the care co-ordinator and the company director. We looked a range of records. This included three people’s care records and five staff recruitment records. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service such as quality assurance monitoring records and policies and procedures.

Following our inspection we contacted fifteen care staff to ask for their views and received one reply. We also received positive feedback from a local healthcare commissioning group that funded almost all of the people that were currently using the service.

Updated 6 July 2019

About the service:

Hedgerow Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to predominantly older adults. At the time of our inspection 12 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The care and support provided to people was person centred. People’s care plans and risk assessments included their care and support needs and preferences. Individualised guidance for staff was provided to assist them in meeting people’s needs and preferences and to reduce and manage the risk of harm. These records had been reviewed regularly and updated where there were any changes in people’s needs.

Staff had received training about safeguarding and knew how to respond to, and report, any allegation or suspicion of harm or abuse. They understood the importance of reporting concerns immediately.

The service’s recruitment procedures were designed to ensure that staff were suitable for the work they would be undertaking. New staff members were not assigned work until two references and Disclosure and Barring service checks {DBS} had been undertaken and were satisfactory.

New staff received an induction to the service before starting work. All staff received regular training to ensure that they were able to meet the needs of the people they supported. Staff also took part in regular supervision sessions to support them in carrying out their roles.

People and their family were involved in decisions about their care. People had been involved in agreeing their care plans and participated in reviews of the care and support provided to them. People and family members said that staff asked people for their consent to carry out care and support tasks.

Information about people’s religious, cultural and communication needs was included in their care plans. Staff supported people to participate in activities of their choice at home and in their local communities.

People were regularly asked about their views of the care and support that they received. Spot checks to look at the quality of care and support had taken place in people’s homes.

Processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns. People and family members were aware of the service’s complaints procedure and knew how to make a complaint if they needed to.

The provider undertook a range of audits to check on the quality of care provided. These were reviewed by the management team and actions had been taken to address any concerns.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection in November 2016 the service had been rated as good in all key questions.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to inspect as part of our re-inspection programme.

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