Background to this inspection
Updated
18 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
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Home Instead Senior Care - Brighton, Hove and Shoreham constitute a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. There was a registered manager. 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’. 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
This inspection was announced and took place on 12 November 2019. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the management team would be in the office.
What we did before the inspection Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. 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 what improvements they plan to make. However, they voluntarily provided us with the provider information return. We also checked notifications made to us by the provider, safeguarding alerts raised regarding people receiving the service and information we held in our database about the service and provider. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We looked at records which included care records for five people. We checked recruitment, training and supervision records for four staff members. We looked at a range of records relating to how the service was managed. We contacted eight people using the service. We also spoke with the registered manager and contacted four members of staff. 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.
Updated
18 December 2019
About the service
Home Instead Senior Care - Brighton, Hove and Shoreham, referred to as Home Instead in this report, is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service operates in Brighton and surrounding areas. Home Instead provides personal care to younger adults and older people including people living with dementia. On the day of the inspection 110 people were supported by the service out of whom 38 people received regulated activity of personal care.
Not everyone using the service received personal care. The 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 that staff were ‘excellent’. Staff had an excellent rapport with people and in-depth appreciation of people’s needs this included their likes, dislikes, preferences and wishes. Staff were very responsive to people’s care and support needs and provided care to people in a way that considered their life history and interests. Staff had an appreciation of people’s abilities and encouraged people to participate in social events and outings so people could be an active part of the local community.
People and relatives knew how to make a complaint if they needed to and felt confident it would be appropriately addressed. The management team saw complaints as way to improve the service further.
The service remained caring and people and their relatives told us they were treated with the utmost respect. People were encouraged to live as dignified and as independently as possible. People’s confidentiality was respected and people’s details were kept secure.
People continued to be supported safely. Staff were aware of the safety and well-being of people who used the service and kept people safe from avoidable harm. Safe recruitment processes were in place to ensure suitable staff were employed. Medicines were administered safely.
People's needs were assessed before their care commenced. Staff had the right skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively and were well-supported by the registered manager with supervisions and appraisals. The service supported people to manage their health conditions and maintain their wellbeing including good nutrition.
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.
The service remained well-led. People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. Staff felt very well supported by the registered manager who was approachable and available for support and guidance. Effective quality assurance systems had been established to monitor the quality of the service being delivered. The culture at the service put people at the heart of the service delivery, and the team demonstrated a strong person-centred ethos.
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 (report published 28 June 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.