The inspection took place on 6 September 2018 and was announced. This was a focused inspection looking at whether people using the service were safe and whether the service was well led. No risks, concerns or significant improvement were identified in the remaining Key Questions through our ongoing monitoring or during our inspection activity so we did not inspect them. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for these Key Questions were included in calculating the overall rating in this inspection. This inspection took place in response to concerns raised with us about people’s safety.The service provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 18 people were receiving care.
There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
We found that people using the service were safe. Feedback from people using the service and their relatives was positive and it was clear that people valued the care they received. Comments included “I can’t fault them, they can’t do enough.”, “They are very, very special people, we have three of them who come to see my wife and they are all fabulous.” And “I would say they are the best carers in the whole wide world”.
When concerns arose about staff performance, action was taken to ensure people using the service were safe. This included suspending staff if necessary. There was a system of spot checks to help the registered manager check that staff were carrying out their roles to the required standard. If there were any concerns identified during spot checks, these were followed up with the member of staff concerned.
Senior staff were open and transparent and took action to improve when necessary. For example, they had identified that systems for monitoring care calls were not robust enough and had purchased an electronic monitoring system which made it much easier to ensure that calls were taking place.
Staff were trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and told us they felt able to report any issues or concerns and felt confident they would be listened to.
People using the service and staff were all positive about how the service was managed and led. Comments included, “The manager is very on the ball. She rings me all the time, she’s very switched on, it’s so much better than the last agency”, “Yes, the manager comes out to see us and asks us questions. I would highly recommend them.” And “The manager is very, very good, she comes to see me she gives me advice and she asks me if I am satisfied. I am very very satisfied with the service”.
Staff gave us examples of concerns they’d brought to the registered manager’s attention, which had been dealt with swiftly and resolved.
People were given numerous opportunities to provide feedback about the service they received. This helped the registered manager monitor the quality of the service they provided.
The ratings for the two domains inspected remained as Good.