Respectful Care

Updated 13 May 2020

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 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.

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 28 February 2020 and ended on 2 March 2020. We visited the office location on both days.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of the care staff, care coordinator, the registered manager and director who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records, medication administration records and the daily notes recorded by care staff. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and training records.

After the inspection

We asked the manager to provide us with a variety of policies and procedures and additional information. All information was sent within the required timeframe. We used all this information to help form our judgements detailed within this report.

Updated 13 May 2020

About the service

Respectful Care is a domiciliary home care service providing personal care to adults with personal care needs. Respectful Care were providing a service to 66 people 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 were cared for by staff who were kind, caring, empathetic and compassionate. They regularly exceeded expectations providing people with an exceptionally caring service. There was an excellent awareness of equality and diversity legislation and this was implemented across the provider’s service supporting people and the staff who cared for them. Staff worked hard to ensure people led fulfilling lives, with many occasions going above and beyond expectations to help them achieve their goals. Innovative methods have been used to include people in the planning of their care and support.

People were provided with a wide range of innovative methods to assist them with making decisions about their lives. People told us staff always acted on their views and people felt fully involved with all decisions about their care. People and staff had formed meaningful and respectful relationships and people praised the consistently sensitive and caring approach of staff during personal care. Independent advocates had been used to support people with making decisions. This helped ensure people did not experience discrimination. People’s diverse needs were considered when care and support was planned for them.

People’s care was exceptionally person centred and focused on providing high quality outcomes for people, in line with their personal preferences. People were supported to lead active lives, if they chose not to take part in activities, innovative and creative methods were used to encourage people to do so within their own home. Technology was used to assist with this process with excellent outcomes for people. This has had a positive impact on many people, reducing the risk of social isolation. There was a sensitive approach to supporting people with planning for their end of the life. People were confident their complaints would be handled appropriately.

Respectful Care is led by an exceptional registered manager who has the well-being of all people at heart. They strive to provide people with the highest possible outcomes. They alongside a dedicated and passionate provider whose aim is to give people the best chance of living at their own home for as long as possible. All staff support this aim; they are motivated and committed and challenge themselves to succeed for people but also for themselves. Staff enjoyed working at the service and they felt able to build a career there. Several internal staff promotions have resulted in staff feeling valued with high staff retention. Robust and high-quality auditing processes were in place, with all decisions made reviewed to ensure action has been taken. Innovative methods were used to ensure that people felt able to give their views about how the service could be developed and improved. High quality staff performance was rewarded, both internally and recognised through regional awards.

Staff used innovative methods to support people with maintaining their own safety and the safety of others. The risks to people’s safety were continually assessed and reviewed without unnecessary restrictions placed on them. People were protected from avoidable harm by staff. Systems were in place than enabled people staff to report concerns. Staff were recruited safely which meant people were not placed at risk of receiving care from unsuitable staff. People’s medicines were managed safely. There were clear processes in place to continually review accidents and incidents and to learn from mistakes. Staff understood how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection within people’s home.

People’s physical, mental health and social needs were assessed and met in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. Staff were well trained, and their practice was regularly assessed to aid development and improve the quality of support people received. People were supported to lead a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The provider had built effective relationships with external health and social care organisations and people’s health was regularly monitored. 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 support 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 and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 15 September 2017). The service's rating has now changed to outstanding

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 reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.