Bramley Homecare Ltd

Updated 12 October 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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 September 2019 and ended on 10 September 2019. We visited the office location on both days.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with eight members of staff including the director, registered manager, assistant manager, care workers, care coordinator and administrator.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 10 people’s care records and a selection of medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with three healthcare professionals by telephone and received feedback from one more via email. We considered their feedback when making our judgements in this report.

Updated 12 October 2019

About the service

Bramley Home Care Ltd provides domiciliary support services to people in their own homes. It provides a service to older people and younger adults some of whom have a physical disability, sensory impairment or dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 76 people receiving a service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received consistently safe care because staff had an improved awareness of the risks people faced and how to manage these. People had personalised risk assessments with staff given clear guidance on how to manage people’s health conditions.

People felt safe and were protected from avoidable harm as staff had been trained to recognise signs of abuse and knew who to report this to if they had concerns. The service had a recruitment and selection process that helped reduce the risk of unsuitable staff supporting people.

People’s capacity to consent to decisions about their care and support had been assessed. The service undertook mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). 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 in the service supported this practice.

Since the previous inspection quality assurance measures had been improved. The frequency and content of these now provided sufficient oversight of the service people received, effectively identified issues and drove improvements.

People’s care plans had been improved since the previous inspection. These were now person-centred and included detailed personal histories, comprehensive risk assessments and people’s preferred method/s of communication. Staff who completed initial assessments, care plans and reviews were now trained to carry out this task.

People were supported to maintain links with their local community and follow their interests. People looked forward to visits from the staff and said the service had enabled them to stay well and retain some of their independence. They described the care staff as kind, patient and “truly caring professionals.”

People and relatives felt the staff had the required training to meet their needs and were competent. They felt fully involved and informed. People were encouraged to make decisions and express their views about the care and support they received by staff who were respectful and familiar to them.

People’s, relatives and staff member’s views about the service were frequently sought and used to help make improvements. Compliments were shared with staff which helped them feel motivated and proud about their work.

The management of the service were seen as supportive and approachable. Staff were recognised and valued. Effective communication helped the team to remain organised and respond quickly to changes in people’s needs.

The service had established and maintained positive working relationships with other agencies including district nurses, live-in care services, occupational therapists and a hospital discharge team. The service recognised its role in the local community and had sponsored local clubs, a carnival and a sports team.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 15 September 2018) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.