Background to this inspection
Updated
7 August 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
Our inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed relevant information that we had about the service including any notifications of safeguarding or incidents affecting the safety and wellbeing of people. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We also checked the last inspection report and requested feedback from social care professionals.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager and two care coordinators. We also spoke, by telephone, with three people who used the service, eight relatives and four care staff. We reviewed documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the service. We reviewed seven people’s care plans and five staff recruitment files. We also looked at staff training records, audits, rotas, complaint and incident records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek further evidence and clarification from the provider, which we have included in the report.
Updated
7 August 2019
About the service
The service provided personal care to adults living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service provided personal care to 42 people. 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
The provider had made improvements to the service following our last inspection. The correct numbers of staff were deployed to people to provide safe care and there were sufficient numbers of staff. Records of people and staff were more up to date and accurate.
People told us they felt safe with staff who provided care to them. However, some people told us they did not always receive a consistent service due to poor timekeeping, short notice cancellations or a lack of communication from the service. We have made a recommendation for the provider to follow best practice guidance on punctuality and consistency of care.
Procedures to protect people from abuse were in place. Risks associated with people’s needs were assessed and staff understood how to reduce these risks. People were supported with their medicines and staff recorded these accurately. Staff followed infection control procedures and knew how to respond in emergencies.
Staff were recruited safely and staff were supported with essential training and development to ensure their skills and knowledge were up to date.
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.
People were supported with maintaining their health and had access to health care professionals, such as GPs, when required. Care plans were personalised and people were encouraged to make choices. Staff got to know people well and understood their preferences.
Staff were respectful and caring towards people. They understood the importance of promoting equality and independence. People were supported to make complaints or contact the office to discuss concerns they had.
Staff felt supported by the management team. Quality assurance systems in the service were effective. The registered manager carried out checks to ensure staff were providing a good standard of care. They learned lessons when things had gone wrong to help make improvements to the service.
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 requires improvement (published 4 April 2018) and there were 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.