Storm Homecare Limited

Updated 23 March 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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 31 October 2023 and ended on 10 November 2023. We visited the location’s office on 31 October and 1 November 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We looked at care records for 7 people. We also looked at records relating to the management and running of the service. These included 7 staff files, training records, the statement of purpose, quality assurance audits and complaints records.

We spoke with 2 people who used the service, 4 relatives, and 4 staff members including the registered manager, the nominated individual and 2 care assistants. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 23 March 2024

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

About the service

Storm Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service provides support to older adults, younger disabled adults, people with a long-term mental health condition, and people with a learning disability or autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the 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

Right Support: Medicines were not always managed safely, and risks to people were not always adequately assessed and mitigated. Safeguarding training was not always effective and there were not always enough staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff completed training, however, not all training was adequate due to the concerns identified above. Staff received regular supervisions.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

Right Care: People felt the service was good, and staff were caring. People spoke positively about the care they received, the staff and the registered manager. People knew how to make a complaint, should the need arise. People's individual communication needs were met.

Right Culture: Systems and processes were not always effective at identifying the concerns we found during the inspection. Some records contained conflicting information, or had gaps. Staff felt supported and treated fairly, and spoke positively about the registered manager.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 January 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

The provider took effective action during the inspection to mitigate the risks identified.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Storm Homecare Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, the identifying and reporting of allegations of abuse, staffing and recruitment, the need for consent, and good governance and oversight.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.