Archived: RV Care Limited - Sussex

Updated 26 January 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 14 August 2017. The provider was given short notice of the inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager and other staff were available to speak to us on the day of the inspection. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an assistant inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including previous inspection reports, any notifications, (a notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law) and any complaints that we had received. The provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. A PIR asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. This enabled us to ensure that we were addressing any potential areas of concern at the inspection.

During and after the inspection we spoke with two people by telephone. We interviewed two members of staff and spoke with the manager and the regional manager. We looked at a range of documents including policies and procedures, care records for six people and other documents such as safeguarding, incident and accident records, medication records and quality assurance information. We reviewed four staff files including information about recruitment, supervision and training. We reviewed team meeting minutes and looked at the provider’s systems for allocating care visits and other information systems.

This was the first inspection of this service since it was registered on 14 September 2015.

Updated 26 January 2018

The inspection took place on 14 August 2017 and was announced. RV Care Limited provides a domiciliary care service to older people living in their own homes, most of whom lived within the grounds of a retirement village. At the time of the inspection there were seven service users receiving a service.

The manager had applied to become a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. This was the first inspection since the provider registered with CQC on 14 September 2015.

The provider did not always ensure that risks to people were managed effectively. Staff did not always have appropriate guidance in how to support people safely. This was identified as an area of practice that required improvement.

Management systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service but these were not always effective in identifying shortfalls and omissions. This was identified as an area of practice that needed to improve.

People told us that having the service helped them to feel safe in their home. One person said, “I know when they are coming and if I have had a bad night it makes me feel safer knowing they are coming in the morning.” There were enough staff to cover all calls and people said that their calls were never missed.

Staff had a clear understanding of their responsibilities with regard to keeping people safe. People received the medicines they needed safely.

Staff received the training and support they needed. There were robust communication systems in place. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and to access health care services when they needed to.

People said that they received a consistent service from regular staff members who knew them well. One person said, “We are very happy with the care, it has been wonderful.” People were involved in developing their care plans. Staff offered people choices and supported them to retain their independence. Staff had a firm understanding about how to promote dignity and people described a caring approach that helped them to feel comfortable when being supported.

Staff were responsive to changes in people’s needs and provided a flexible service. People were receiving personalised care and staff respected their choices. Care plans contained relevant details that supported staff to provide a personalised service.

There was clear leadership and people and staff spoke highly of the manager describing them as approachable and friendly. One person said, “I think it (the service) is very well managed indeed.”

We found one breach of the regulations. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.