Happylife Care

Updated 6 June 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: consisted one inspector.

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission, who was also the registered provider. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.'

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was announced and took place on 22 May 2019. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection site visit to ensure the registered manager would be present and to ensure people's consent was gained for us to contact them for their feedback.

Inspection site visit activity started on and ended on 22 May 2019. We visited the office location on 22 May 2019 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information return (PIR). We looked at information we held about the service, including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example, the local authority and members of the public.

During the inspection, we spoke with one person using the service and two relatives to ask about their experience of care. We spoke with the registered manager who is also the provider. We also spoke with two care staff and one other health and social care provider, who jointly works with Happylife Care.

We looked at the care records for three people, two staff employment records and information relating to the quality and management of the service.

Updated 6 June 2019

Summary

About the service: Happylife Care is a domiciliary service which provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service provided care to two people, and regularly cared for other people on a short-term basis, to meet their needs.

People's experience of using this service:

People and their relatives told us they could rely on staff to provide the care agreed.

People’s needs were carefully assessed, so staff could be sure they would be able to meet their needs.

People were supported by staff who understood the risks to their safety and who supported them to reduce risks, whilst promoting their choices.

Staff knew how to identify concerns, such as abuse, or people becoming anxious, and understood how to protect people.

People's care was planned with them and reflected their preferences. Staff considered people’s rights to independence, dignity and privacy when planning and providing their care.

Staff had the skills to meet people's needs and supported people to access the healthcare they needed, so they would remain well.

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.

People and staff had developed strong bonds, and care was provided by a consistent staff team, who cared for people in ways which showed them they were valued.

Staff understood what was important to people and tailored the care provided so people’s goals were met and their well-being enhanced.

People and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns and complaint. Relatives told us any suggestions they made to improve their family member’s care were listened to.

Relatives, staff and other health and social care professionals were positive about the way the service was managed.

The registered manager sought people's views and experiences as part of their quality assurance processes. Staff were encouraged to reflect on the care provided so improvements to the service would be driven through.

We found the service met the characteristics of a "Good" rating.

Rating at last inspection: Good. The last report for Happylife Care was published on 14 December 2016.

Why we inspected: This inspection was a scheduled inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service and will inspect within 30 months of the report being published.

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