Routes Healthcare Burnley

Updated 18 July 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides nursing and personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service short notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also requested consent from people, their relatives and staff members to call them over the telephone.

Inspection activity started on 4 July 2023 and ended on 5 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on both days.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and asked the local authority for feedback. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

With their consent, we spoke with 5 people using the service, 5 relatives and 3 members of staff over the telephone. We also spoke with the registered manager at the agency’s office.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care plans and associated records as well as 2 people’s medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. In addition, we looked at records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures and staff training as well as audits and quality checks.

Updated 18 July 2023

About the service

Routes Healthcare Burnley is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, there were 74 people using the service. All people using the service were receiving personal care.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.

Right support

People told us they felt safe and staff were kind and caring. Staff understood how to protect people from harm or discrimination and had access to safeguarding adults’ procedures. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to safely meet people's needs. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures. Risks were assessed and monitored, which reduced the potential of avoidable harm. People were also protected from risks associated with the spread of infection. People received their medicines safely and were supported to eat and drink in accordance with their care plan.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s needs were assessed prior to them using the service. The provider had arrangements for the induction of new staff and provided regular training updates for existing staff. Staff were supported by the registered manager and the management team. People were helped to access healthcare services, as appropriate.

Right Care

People and their relatives told us staff were caring and treated them with kindness and respect. People and where appropriate their relatives had been consulted about their care needs and were closely involved in their ongoing care and support. Staff respected people's privacy and dignity. People and their relatives had access to the complaints procedure, if they wished to raise a concern. The registered manager had maintained detailed records of complaints.

Right Culture

The provider promoted a person-centred culture which was focused on meeting people's individual needs. The registered manager and the management team carried out a series of audits to check the quality and safety of the service. Spot checks were carried out to monitor staff performance. People, relatives and staff were asked for their views and their suggestions were used to improve the service and make any necessary changes. All people, staff and relatives praised the care provided and the management of the service. They confirmed the registered manager was approachable and supportive.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at the last inspection

The last rating for the service was good (published 12 December 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about infection prevention and control practices, the lack of action taken to complaints, staff consistency and the management of medicines. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Routes Healthcare Burnley on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.