Background to this inspection
Updated
25 December 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
This inspection was carried out by two 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.
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. The registered manager had employed a branch manager to take care of day to day management responsibilities.
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 20 November 2019 and ended on 25 November 2019. We visited the office location on 20 November 2019.
What we did before the inspection
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. We reviewed information we had about the service since the last inspection.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the branch manager and one member of staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicines records. We look at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We contacted six relatives by telephone to talk to them about their experiences of care and support from the service. Most people being supported by the agency were not able to speak with us by telephone. We telephoned three members of staff and contacted six healthcare professionals to ask them for their feedback about this service. We also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
Updated
25 December 2019
About the service
Brooklands Homecare Ltd is a small domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 16 people at the time of the inspection. The agency is based in Worthing and supports people in the surrounding areas.
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 were being supported by staff who were kind and caring. Feedback about the staff was all positive. As the service was small people knew their care workers well and had consistency with their care and support. Relationships between staff and people and their relatives had developed.
People were supported safely by staff who had been trained and were well supported by the management. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet the agreed care packages. There was an on call system which supported people and staff to have access to a manager at all times. People’s risks had been identified and there were plans in place to help manage risks identified.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People had their own care plans which were reviewed when needed. A copy was kept in people’s homes, so they could access them when they wished.
People’s care was personalised as staff knew their likes and dislikes. People and relatives had access to a complaints process to raise concerns. All the feedback about the branch manager was positive. There was confidence in their ability to manage the service.
Quality monitoring was being carried out and staff were encouraged to share their thoughts about improving the service. People and their relatives were asked for feedback to monitor the quality of the care and support.
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 June 2017). Since this rating was awarded the service has moved the office location. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
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.