Updated 1 January 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 25 November 2019 and ended on 29 November 2019. We visited the office location on 25 November 2019 and 29 November 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We visited the service’s office on 25 November 2019 and spoke with the registered manager, a senior care worker and two care workers. We also spoke with a health care professional on the telephone, who regularly works with the service and supports people in the community. We reviewed a range of records. This included ten people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and a further three files relating to staff supervision and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
On 26 November 2019, we spoke with six people who used the service and eight relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. On 27 November 2019, we spoke with one person who used the service and three relatives on the telephone. We received electronic feedback from a health care professional who supports people in the community and works with the service.
On 29 November 2019, we visited the service’s office and met with the registered manager and the nominated individual to give feedback on our inspection. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data.