Archived: HomeCare (Mellor)

Updated 18 August 2015

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 12 May 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the service’s office to provide us with the required information.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector 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 care service. This expert had experience of caring for someone who used services for older people.

Prior to our visit, we reviewed all the information we held about the service. The provider sent us a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with 15 people who used the service or their main carers. We spoke with six staff members, including the registered manager, the training manager, deputy manager and three care workers. We consulted local authority commissioners and three community professionals who supported people who used the service, but received no responses.

We closely examined the care records of four people who used the service. This process is called pathway tracking and enables us to judge how well the service understands and plans to meet people’s care needs and manage any risks to people’s health and wellbeing.

We viewed a selection of records including some policies and procedures, safety and quality audits, four staff personnel and training files, records of accidents, complaints records and minutes of staff and management meetings.

Updated 18 August 2015

The inspection took place on 12 May 2015. The registered manager was given 48 hours’ notice of our intention to inspect the service. This was in line with our procedures when inspecting domiciliary care agencies as it ensured there would be someone available at the agency’s office to provide us with the necessary information.

HomeCare (Mellor) is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people in their own homes. Following an assessment of a client’s needs, an individual care package is put in place, which will include areas such as personal care or assistance with domestic tasks.

The service supports people with a wide range of needs including older people, people with physical disabilities or people with learning disabilities.

The last inspection of the service took place on 9 May 2013. During this inspection the service was found to be meeting all the regulations that were assessed.

We were assisted during this inspection by the long-term registered manager of the service. 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.

People we spoke with who used the service told us they felt safe and well cared for. People were satisfied that their care workers understood their needs and supported them in a safe and effective manner. People spoke highly of care workers describing them as kind, caring and respectful. They said they were treated in a compassionate way and that their privacy and dignity was respected.

There were effective systems in place to assess and manage risks to people’s health and wellbeing. The service worked well with community health care professionals to help ensure people received effective health care. People who required assistance to take their medicines were provided with safe support.

People’s care plans reflected their individual needs and personal wishes. People told us they were involved in the development of their care plans and were enabled to express their views on an ongoing basis.

People described a service that was responsive to their needs and flexible. However, some people did express dissatisfaction with the punctuality of care workers. This was discussed with the registered manager during the inspection who was able to demonstrate that she has identified this area as requiring improvement and had developed an improvement plan in response.

The service carried out robust recruitment procedures which included the requirement of any new staff to undergo a series of background checks. These included Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks which would identify if the individual had any criminal convictions or had ever been barred from working with vulnerable people. The recruitment procedures followed helped to ensure people of unsuitable character were not employed.

The registered manager demonstrated a positive approach to the training and support of staff. There was a dedicated training manager in place who led the learning and development programme for staff and monitored the area very closely.

New staff were provided with a thorough induction and an ongoing training programme ensured care workers received regular refresher training and competence assessments. There was an effective supervision programme in place, which meant staff had the benefit of regular 1-1 support from a manager.

Staff described a supportive and approachable management team. Care workers told us they knew who to speak to if they had any concerns and the processes to follow if they identified any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of people who used the service.

The registered manager had effective systems in place to monitor safety and quality across the service. In addition, we saw that people who used the service were enabled to express their views and share their experiences. Where areas for improvement were identified the registered manager took action to address them.