Background to this inspection
Updated
26 November 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 carried out by two inspectors.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 4 November 2020 and ended on 5 November 2020. We visited the office location on 4 November 2020.
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. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke on the telephone with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We met with the registered manager and spoke to a member of the care team on the telephone.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We contacted a further five members of staff to seek their feedback on the quality and safety of the service provided.
Updated
26 November 2020
About the service
Direct Health (Telford) is a domiciliary care agency which provides assistance with personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 214 people were receiving support with personal care needs. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe with the staff who supported them. People were supported by adequate numbers of staff who were safe to work with them. The provider’s systems protected people from the risk of abuse. People were protected from the risks associated with the control and spread of infection. There were safe systems for the management and administration of people’s prescribed medicines. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who were trained and competent.
There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service people received. People’s views were valued and responded to. The service worked in partnership with other professionals to ensure people received a service which met their needs and preferences. People were cared for by a staff team who were well supported in their role.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 2 April 2019).
Why we inspected
This focused inspection was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Direct Health (Telford) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.