Background to this inspection
Updated
9 December 2021
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 undertaken by two inspectors 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 homes.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This meant the provider was legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 November 2021 and ended on 17 November 2021. We visited the office location on 11 November 2021.
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 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and seven relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the director of compliance, the regional operations manager and three care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and three people’s medication records. We looked at four 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.
Updated
9 December 2021
About the service
Hales Group Limited - Leicester is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 34 people living in their own homes at the time of the inspection.
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 told us they felt safe and confident with the care and support they received from staff. People were safeguarded from abuse and neglect by a staff team who were trained in safeguarding procedures.
Risk assessments had been completed to ensure people were supported to remain safe. There was clear guidance for staff on how to manage people’s risks.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People told us the staff who provided their care were consistent and knew them well. The provider had implemented an electronic monitoring system to help with planning, implementing and monitoring rotas.
People received their medicines safely and as prescribed by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent to administer medicines.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) was well managed and staff were trained in safe IPC practices whilst providing care. Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was made available and worn by staff.
Quality control systems were effective in identifying issues within the service. When issues were identified during audits, the provider developed effective action plans to improve care and drive continuous learning.
Care records were person-centred and contained sufficient information about people’s preferences, specific routines, their life history and interests.
The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments. People told us they were aware of the complaints policy and would feel comfortable approaching the registered manager if they had a complaint.
People and their relatives told us they were involved in the planning of their care. People, their relatives and staff members were given opportunities to provide feedback on the service. The management team acted on the views of people, their relatives and staff members.
The provider and management team had good links with the local communities within which people lived.
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 at the service supported this practice.
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 17 October 2018).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to missed and late care calls and a lack of management oversight. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hales Group Limited - Leicester on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.