Background to this inspection
Updated
10 August 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.
This inspection took place on 25, 26 and 28 June 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.
The inspection started on 21 June and ended on 28 June 2018. It included making telephone calls to people using the service, relatives and staff. We visited the office location on 26 June 2018 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.
The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector and an assistant inspector.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications regarding important events which the provider must tell us about. We contacted commissioners and no information of concern was received about the provider.
During the inspection we spoke with two relatives and one person receiving care and support from the service. We spoke with seven members of care staff, the care co-ordinator and the registered manager.
We looked at care records in relation to three people using the service. We looked at four staff recruitment files and staff training records. We looked at records that showed how the provider managed and monitored the quality of service. These included quality audits, spot checks, complaints, compliments and a sample of the providers policies and procedures.
Updated
10 August 2018
This inspection took place on 25,26 and 28 June 2018 and was announced.
Goldfinch Care Agency is a small domiciliary care agency providing personal care, to adults in their own homes in the community. The service specialises in providing a 24 hour live in care staff and at the time of our inspection 19 people were using the service.
A registered manager was 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 were protected from the risk of harm. Staff had been trained in safeguarding people and understood how to report any concerns of abuse. Risks to people’s safety were assessed to ensure preventative action was taken to reduce the risk of harm to people.
People were supported with their medicines in a safe way. People’s nutritional needs were met and they were supported with their health care needs when required. The service worked with other organisations to ensure that people received coordinated care and support.
People were protected by safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable to work in care services. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff received training for their role and ongoing support and supervision to work effectively.
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 provider, manager and staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and gained people's consent before they were supported.
People were involved all aspects of their care. People’s care plans information available about people’s preferences, daily routines and diverse cultural needs. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and preferences and worked flexibly to ensure they were met.
People and their relatives were happy with staff who provided their personal care and had developed positive trusting relationships. People were treated with dignity and respect, and their rights to privacy were upheld.
People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and this was used to drive continuous improvement. People and relatives all spoke positively about the staff team and how the service was managed. The provider had a process in place which ensured people could raise any complaints or concerns.
The registered manager and staff team were committed to following the vision and values of the service in providing good quality care. The registered manager was aware of their legal responsibilities and provided effective leadership and support to staff. Quality assurance systems were used to monitor and assess the quality of the service to drive continuous improvement. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies to meet people’s needs.