We carried out the inspection of Rainbow Social Care Limited on 13January 2016. This was an announced inspection as the provider had been given a 48 hours’ notice. The location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to ensure that the people we needed to contact would be available to speak with us. This was the first inspection since the agency had re-registered on 12 June 2014 due to the change of the location’s address. Thus it was also the first inspection of this service under its current registration.Rainbow Social Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our visit the service supported 13 people. The service is based in an office on the first floor of a building. The office is accessible via a passenger lift and there are also accessible toilet facilities.
There was a registered manager in post who was present during the inspection. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service. There were processes in place to keep people safe and minimise any risks that may arise in the course of delivering care to them. This included the completion of risk assessments and checks on staff. Staff demonstrated an in-depth understanding of what may constitute signs of abuse and knew how to respond to such signs.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. The provider had completed checks on new workers to ensure that they were safe and suitable to provide care to people who use the service. People were supported by the same group of staff as far as possible, ensuring continuity and consistency of the care. Moreover, such practice enabled staff to gain knowledge about the individuals they were caring for. As a result, these factors contributed to enhancing the quality of the care. The service had quality assurances processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service that people received.
Medicines were administered by appropriately trained staff who were aware of the potential risks involved in medicine handling. Care workers had received training to administer medicines safely, which included checks on their competence. They recorded the medicine dosage and times of their administration by signing a medicine administration record (MAR) sheet. MAR sheets were checked by care workers during their visits and by senior staff during spot checks for any gaps or errors. Completed MARs were returned to the office every month for auditing.
The culture was open and staff were encouraged to raise their concerns if they witnessed any incidents of malpractice. Staff members told us they felt they worked in a safe environment and they could always contact the manager for support and advice.
People using the service, their relatives and staff said the registered manager was approachable and supportive. The manager actively sought feedback from all parties involved in running the service in order to develop and improve it.
The registered manager had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and had received training in this area to meet people’s care needs. Staff had also received awareness training in the Mental Capacity Act.
Each staff member had received induction and a programme of training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively. Staff were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. Appropriately recruited and trained, they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s varying support needs.
People were offered support concerning their nutrition, and the support suited people’s specific needs. People had access to health and social care arranged as needed.
People told us that their privacy and dignity were respected, and that their support was provided in a caring, considerate and a patient way. Staff understood people’s preferences, likes and dislikes.
Staff sought people’s consent before supporting them and encouraged them to make decisions for themselves. When people refused to be supported, their choice was respected. If some people had difficulty communicating verbally, staff would look for other forms of communication, such as body language, gestures or writing things down for people. As some people did not communicate in English, they were supported by staff members who spoke their native language.
A complaints procedure was in place, enabling people to raise their concerns at any time.