Archived: Direct Health (Telford)

Updated 17 December 2016

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 10 and 17 October 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides domiciliary care services; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team consisted of an 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.

Prior to the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included any statutory notifications we had received, which are notifications the provider must send us to inform us of certain events such as serious injuries. We also contacted the local authority and commissioners for information they held about the service.

During the inspection, we spoke with 13 people who used the service and four relatives. We spoke with the registered manager and 12 staff, which included care workers and care coordinators. We reviewed a range of records about how people received their care and how the service was managed. These included eight people’s care records, three staff records and records relating to the management of the service such as complaints records, care record audits, spot check documents and policies.

Updated 17 December 2016

This inspection took place on 10 and 17 October 2016 and was announced. Direct Health (Telford) provides community support and personal care to older people, younger adults, people with a learning disability and children with disabilities, in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 250 people were receiving a service from the provider. This was the services first ratings inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

People did not always have support from sufficient staff. People received medicines safely. People had their risks assessed and accidents and incidents were managed safely. People received support from safely recruited staff that understood how to keep people safe, and people told us they felt safe with the staff. People had support from staff that had the required skills to carry out their role People had their rights protected by staff that understood and could apply the principles of the mental capacity act. People had support from staff to make choices about their food and their needs and preferences were met. People were supported with their health conditions.

People told us they had good relationships with the staff that supported them and they received support from staff who protected their right to privacy and dignity. People told us they were able to make choices about their care, with support from staff where required, and they were supported to maintain their independence.

People did not always have their needs met at the time they needed preferred. People had their needs assessed and reviewed and staff understood their preferences. People understood how to make a complaint, and investigations were undertaken.

The registered manager had systems in place to check the quality of the service; however, where areas for improvement had been identified, action had not been taken at the time of our inspection. Staff were supported in their role and people felt managers were approachable.