My Homecare Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

Updated 9 August 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by three inspectors and three Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Two inspectors attended the service’s office location and a third inspector supported with telephone calls to staff.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service a short notice period of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 July 2023 and ended on 24 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 13 July 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We also sought feedback from local authorities in areas where the service operated. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 6 people using the service and 25 relatives/representatives.

We spoke with 11 members of staff, including 5 care assistants, some of whom had senior responsibilities as route leaders, 1 regular agency worker, the care coordinator, the field care supervisor, the field care manager, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also received email feedback from an additional 6 care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care and support plans, as well as people's medicines records where they received support with this task.

We looked at 9 staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to management of the service including policies and procedures, accident and incident records, compliments and complaints and audits of the service.

We received feedback from 8 professionals who had worked with, or commissioned care from, the service.

Updated 9 August 2023

About the service

My Homecare Slough South Bucks is a service providing care and support to people in their own home. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 51 people. This included both younger adults, people with physical or sensory impairments, and older people. Some people were receiving 24 hour or live-in 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

We have made a recommendation in relation to person-centred care planning. Staff could speak in detail about the people they supported, with knowledge of their routines and preferences. Complaints management systems were in place and people’s care needs and satisfaction with the service were regularly reviewed.

Staff deployment aimed to provide continuity of care but we have made a recommendation in relation to staff rotas to ensure staff have sufficient travel time. People were supported by staff who were suitably inducted, trained and supported

We have made a recommendation in relation to person-centred risk assessments. People were safeguarded from risks of abuse and other risks, such as moving and handling, and infection control risks. Safe medicines administration practices were promoted, including regular audits.

Staff, people and families told us the service was well-managed. People indicated the manager of the service was accessible and staff told us they were well supported. Quality assurance systems had improved since our last inspection and the service worked well in partnership with other health and social care organisations.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 May 2022).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended the service review their approach, so arrangements for rotas ensured the effective deployment of staff to meet people's needs. At this inspection we identified concerns about rota management and have made a further recommendation.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 8 and 9 March 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. 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 My Homecare Slough South Bucks on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We recommend the service further develop their approach to ensure staff rotas adequately consider travelling time to make sure people receive timely support. We have also made additional recommendations in relation to person-centred risk assessments and for care plans to fully explore people’s personal history, interests and aspirations.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.