Star Service

Updated 6 April 2019

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

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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 service.

Service and service type:

Star Service Limited is a domiciliary care service. Staff deliver personal care support to people living in their own homes. Services are provided to both younger and older people who have learning or physical disabilities, who are living with dementia, have sensory impairments and or related mental health conditions.

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 visit because it is a domiciliary service staff members are often out of the office providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be available to speak with us. We also needed to ensure that people's consent was gained for us to contact them for feedback about the service. We visited the office location on 11 March 2019 to speak with the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they were registered with us. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as allegations of abuse and we sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with staff, reviewed two staff recruitment and supervision files, seven care records and records relating to health and safety, safeguarding and other aspects of the service. We spoke with three care staff, two assessors, care coordinator, team leader, interim service manager, operations manager and the registered manager. The expert by experience and lead inspector telephoned and spoke with a total of 20 people who use the service and 5 relatives to gain their views of the service. We also received positive feedback from 3 health and social care professionals about their experience of the service.

Updated 6 April 2019

About the service:

The service is registered to and managed by Sandwell Council. People who used the service received their support and care in their own homes within the community. The service comprised of three different elements. Short Term Assessment and Reablement [STAR], Fast Response and Own Bed Instead. All three elements supported people when they were unwell, had suffered an injury, or required end of life care. This enabled a timely discharge from hospital or could prevent the need for a hospital admission. The service provided was time limited, in general six weeks, and for the majority of care and support packages there was no charge.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by staff that were caring and compassionate and were treated with dignity and respect. Staff listened and responded to any concerns or worries people had and used these as opportunities to improve.

People received person centred care and support based on their individual needs and preferences. Staff were aware of people's life histories and individual preferences. They used this information to develop positive, meaningful relationships with people.

People told us they felt well cared for by staff who treated them with respect and dignity and encouraged them to maintain relationships and keep their independence for as long as possible.

The provider ensured people had consistency with staff members, as a result people and staff were able to build positive relationships. People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Staff understood and felt confident in their role.

Staff liaised with other health care professionals to ensure people's safety and meet their health needs.

Where people lacked capacity, staff worked with the local authority to make sure they minimised any restrictions on people's freedom for their safety and wellbeing.

Staff spoke positively about working for the provider. They felt well supported and that they could talk to management at any time, feeling confident any concerns would be acted on promptly. They felt valued and happy in their role.

Audits were completed by staff and the registered manager to check the quality and safety of the service.

The registered manager, operations manager and service manager worked well to lead the staff team in their roles and ensure people received a good service.

More information is in Detailed Findings below

Rating at last inspection:

Requires Improvement. (Report Published 03 December 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating of requires improvement at the last inspection. The service rating changed to an overall rating of good.

Enforcement:

No enforcement action was required.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.