Respect Care Services

Updated 23 May 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 was a planned comprehensive inspection which took place on 12 and 18 December 2017. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of both visits as this is a domiciliary care service and we wanted to ensure that the registered manager who may be out of the office conducting assessments was available when we attended.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience who undertook calls to people who received support from the service subsequent to our visits on 12 and 18 December 2017. 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 that we held about the service. This included information received from notifications and enquiries that we had received. We also reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give key information about the service, what the service does well, and the improvements that they plan to make.

During our inspection we looked at the care records for 18 people and seven staff files. We also looked at quality assurance records and other documents relating to the management of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s nominated individual, the training manager, a care manager and seven members of the care team. Subsequent to our inspection we spoke by telephone with 17 people who used the service and three family members.

Updated 23 May 2018

Our inspection of Respect Care Services Limited took place on 12 and 18 December 2017. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of both visits as this is a domiciliary care service and we wanted to ensure that the registered manager who may be out of the office conducting assessments was available when we attended.

Respect Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. The majority of people supported by the service are older adults, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection the service was working with 180 people.

The service has 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.

At our previous inspection of the service on 5, 6, 7 and 10 October 2016 we found five breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, consent, person centred care, submitting notifications to the CQC and good governance.

Following this inspection, asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to address these and to improve the service.. During this inspection we found that the provider had taken action to address the breaches identified at our previous inspection.

People who were supported by the service had detailed risk assessments in place. These showed that individual risks had been identified and that guidance was provided to support staff members to manage and reduce these.

Assessments of people’s capacity to make decisions were included in their care files. Where people were able to do so, we saw that that they had signed to show that they agreed with their care plans and risk assessments. People and family members told us that the service involved them in decision making about their care and support.

People had plans of care to enable staff members to address their needs effectively. The care plans that we saw showed that these were regularly updated to reflect people’s current needs. Staff members had completed records of the care and supported provided at each visit that they made. The provider regularly monitored the quality of care records.

Some people were supported by staff to take prescribed medicines. We saw risk assessments were in place for medicines administration and that the records of medicines administration were accurately completed and regularly audited by the service. Staff members had received training in the safe administration of medicines and their competency in doing so had been assessed.

People receiving care and support spoke positively about the staff members who visited them. Staff members demonstrated caring and respectful attitudes towards the people they supported.

Staff records showed that checks of their suitability for the work they were undertaking had taken place. New staff did not start working with people until they had successfully participates in an induction training programme. An on-going training programme was in place for all staff members. Staff members received regular supervision from a manager to ensure that they remained competent in their roles.

People and family members told us that the service was responsive to their needs. We saw that care plans and risk assessments had been updated where there had been any changes to the support that people required. Staffing rotas showed that people received care and support from the same staff members. Where people had specific cultural, religious or communication needs the service made efforts to ensure that care staff were able to support these.

The provider had developed an on-line system for ensuring that the quality of the service was regularly monitored and that concerns were identified and addressed. We saw that regular monitoring of, for example, care files, medicines records, staff files, complaints and safeguarding concerns had been carried out. The system identified when audits or monitoring reviews were due.

The service liaised with other professionals to ensure that people’s needs were fully addressed.