Carers In Herts

Updated 18 January 2018

'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.'

The inspection took place on the 28, 29 November and 6 December 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to make sure that the relevant people would be there to help support our inspection.

The inspection was completed by one 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.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. The most recent PIR was received on 06 October 2017.

During the inspection we spoke with three people who used the service, five staff members, six relatives, the chief executive, the care coordinator, the human resources manager and the registered manager and the service manager.

We received feedback from the local commissioners. We reviewed care records relating to three people who used the service, four staff recruitment records and training. We reviewed quality monitoring information and other records relevant to the overall running of the service.

Updated 18 January 2018

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults and people with a physical disability. The inspection took place on the 28, 29 November and 6 December 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to make sure that the relevant people would be there to help support our inspection.

This was the first inspection since the service was registered in November 2016. There was a registered manager in post. 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 felt safe and staff were aware of how to protect people from avoidable harm and keep people safe. Individual risks were assessed and managed effectively There were adequate trained staff to meet people’s needs and they had been recruited through a robust recruitment process. Where required people were supported to take their medicines safely by staff who had been trained.

People were assisted in a person centred way by staff who were well supported by the management team. The management and staff were aware of how to obtain peoples consent and knew about the MCA principles. Care plans were detailed and people had been involved in developing and reviewing them.

People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff recognised that they were visitors in peoples own homes. People and their relatives told us that they did not have any complaints but knew they could raise any concerns and were they would be addressed in a timely way.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People were involved in giving feedback and people felt their input was valued and that they were listened to. People, their relatives and staff told us that they felt the service was well managed and were consistently positive about the culture of the service.