Clifton Homecare

Updated 2 March 2019

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.

Clifton Homecare is also domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to individuals within their own homes throughout the local community community.

This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 21 and 22 January 2019 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours' notice because the location provides a care service to people who lived in the community. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection we completed our planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affected the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the commissioning departments at Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Borough Council. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.

As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is 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.

During our inspection visit we spoke with one person supported by the service and ten family members. We also went to the Clifton Homecare office and spoke with a range of people about the service. They included the registered provider, company director, the services administrator and four staff members providing care in the community.

We looked at the care records of two people, recruitment and supervision records of three staff members, the training matrix and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 2 March 2019

Clifton Homecare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The agency provides support in the home for older people and people who live with dementia. The agency operates from offices based on Orchard Road in St. Annes. At the time of our inspection Clifton Homecare provided services to 67 people.

At the last inspection carried out on 13 December 2016 the service was rated Outstanding. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Outstanding. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The registered provider was an individual who also managed the service on a day to day basis. Registered providers 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 supported by the service continued to receive personalised care which was extremely responsive to their individual needs. Staff had an excellent understanding of the care and support people required and provided this with great care and patience.

People supported by the service and their family members consistently told us staff who visited them were polite, reliable, caring and professional in their approach to their work. They spoke positively about the quality of service provided and how the registered provider and her staff went the extra mile to ensure their needs were met.

People’s care and support had been planned proactively and in partnership with them. People felt consulted and listened to about how their care would be delivered.

Systems, processes and practices were embedded to safeguard people from abuse and risk of harm. Good practice guidance had been followed to keep people safe. Staffing levels were continuously reviewed to ensure there were enough staff to provide a flexible and responsive care.

The service continued to be extremely responsive to supporting people outside their contracted hours. We were repeatedly told of occasions where the service had gone above and beyond what was expected of them. This included attending to people who had fallen and responding to support people who were unwell and needed assistance gaining medical attention.

People spoken with consistently referred to the registered provider and her staff as kind and caring people. They told us they valued their relationships with the staff who supported them and the support provided often exceeded what they had requested.

People supported by the service and family members consistently told us they felt safe with the staff who supported them. They told us they received patient and safe care and they liked the staff who supported them. They said staff were respectful, friendly and conscientious.

Links with health and social care professionals continued to remain excellent.

People were supported by the service to attend healthcare appointments to ensure their health and wellbeing was maintained.

People who used the service were supported to attend outings organised by the service or activities of their choice with the services own transport. During our inspection people told us about events they had attended which provided opportunities to socialise and make friends.

Recruitment procedures were safe with appropriate checks undertaken. Careful consideration had been given to ensure staff offered employment shared the same care values of the registered provider to deliver high quality care alongside the existing staff team.

Staff and their mix of skills were used innovatively to give them the time to develop positive and meaningful relationships with people to keep them safe and meet their needs. There was a strong emphasis on promoting independence and empowering people wherever possible.

Staff retention was good and people told us they were supported by staff who knew and consistently met their needs.

The service used innovative and creative ways to train and develop their staff and ensured they put their learning into practice to provide an outstanding service.

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

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.

The service used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits and satisfaction surveys to seek people’s views about the service provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below