RMHCare Ltd

Updated 9 June 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.

We gave 48 hours' notice to be sure the management would be in the office and available to assist with the inspection.

This inspection took place on 26 January 2018, and was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, we checked for any notifications made to us by the provider and the information we held on our database about the service and provider. Statutory notifications are pieces of information about important events which took place at the service, such as safeguarding incidents, which the provider is required to send to us by law.

During the inspection we spoke with three people using the service and two relatives to obtain feedback about their experiences of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, and six care workers. We examined six people's care records. We also looked at personnel records of seven care workers, including details of their recruitment, training and supervision. We reviewed further records relating to the management of the service, including staffing rotas and quality assurance processes, to see how the service was run.

Updated 9 June 2018

RMHCare Ltd provides a range of services to people in their own home including personal care. People using the service had a range of needs such as learning and/or physical disabilities and dementia. At the time of our inspection 10 people were receiving personal care in their own homes.

Not everyone using RMHCare Ltd receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspect the service received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service had a registered manager. 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 who used the service were confident in the ability of care workers to keep them safe. There were safeguarding systems and processes to support care workers to understand their role and responsibilities to protect people from avoidable harm. There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. Care workers underwent appropriate recruitment checks before they started to work at the service. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs safely. The service had processes in place to reduce the risk of infection and cross contamination. There were systems in place to ensure proper and safe use of medicines. Care workers had received medicines training.

Care plans were detailed and person-centred. People receiving care had their needs assessed across a wide range of areas and care plans included guidance about meeting their needs. Care workers understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and we found that people's consent was sought before the service provided care to them. Care workers were aware of the need to assess people's capacity to make specific decisions. Care workers were supported to have the skills and knowledge to carry out their role. They had received an induction before they could provide care to people. This was followed by regular training and support. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink. Their care plans contained detailed information about food and drink.

Care workers had regular supervisions. They also received spot checks to monitor their performance when caring for people. Those who had been at the service for longer than 12 months had also received an appraisal. People receiving care were respected by staff and treated with kindness. People consistently described care workers in complimentary terms such as kind, compassionate, caring, and respectful.

People were involved in their care. Care plans reflected people’s needs, likes and dislikes and had been reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they remained up to date. Care workers knew people well and were able to describe to us how people liked to be supported. There was a complaints procedure which people and their relatives were aware of. People were provided with a service user guide that gave details of the process for reporting a complaint. People felt they would be listened to if they needed to complain or raise concerns. The Accessible Information standard was understood by the management team.

There were effective governance arrangements. There were systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.