Background to this inspection
Updated
28 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
The inspection was undertaken 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
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 4 November 2019 and ended on 13 November 2019. We visited the office location on 8 and 11 November 2019.
What we did before the inspection
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. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with four people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including, registered manager, team leader and support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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, care plan reviews and quality assurance records.
Updated
28 December 2019
About the service
Invest in care is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. There were 15 people receiving personal care at the time of the inspection.
Not everyone who uses 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
The provider had not consistently followed their recruitment policy to ensure suitably skilled staff were in place. Checks had not consistently been carried out to ensure people had their needs met.
People were supported to have risks to their safety managed and were protected from abuse by staff that understood how to safeguard them. People received support from staff that understood how to minimise the risk of infection. Where incident happened, these were reviewed and learning was applied.
Staff were trained and supported in their role to provide effective care. People had their needs assessed and plans put in place to meet them. Where people had dietary needs identified these were planned for. Any health conditions were documented and people had support to maintain their health.
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 were supported by kind and caring staff who helped them to maintain their privacy dignity and independence. Staff supported people to make choices and decisions for themselves about their care and support.
People received person centred care which enabled them to have their preferences met including considering needs at the end of people’s lives. People received support to access the community and follow their interests.
The provider had a system in place to obtain feedback from people and listened and learned when people made complaints. There were systems in place to support continuous learning and partnerships and the registered manager understood their responsibilities.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 9 May 2017).
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.