Acqua Doria

Updated 15 June 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 site visit took place on 21 May 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection activity to ensure staff we needed to speak with were available and to enable the service to inform people the inspection was taking place and that they may be contacted. Inspection activity started on 18 May 2018 and ended on 21 May 2018. We made telephone calls to people on 18 May 2018 and visited the office location on 21 May 2018 to speak with the registered manager and staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

The inspection team included one adult social care inspector and an Expert 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. The Expert by Experience had experience of caring for older people.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

Prior to the inspection, we requested feedback on the service from a commissioner of the service. During the inspection, we spoke with nine people, four care staff, a co-ordinator, the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We reviewed records, which included four people’s care plans and four staff recruitment and supervision records, and records relating to the management of the service.

This was the first inspection of this service since it has registered at this location.

Updated 15 June 2018

The inspection site visit took place on 21 May 2018 and was announced to ensure staff we needed to speak with were available. This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults, some of whom may be living with dementia, people with a physical disability and younger adults.

Not everyone using Acqua Doria receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. On the day of the inspection, 23 people received the regulated activity.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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.

Processes, policies and staff training were in place to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. Staff had identified and assessed a variety of potential risks to people including from their environment. Where risks were identified, action had been taken to manage them for people’s safety. Staff supported people to eat and drink sufficient for their needs.

Processes were in place to investigate and learn from incidents. People were kept safe from the risks of infection. People received their medicines safely from trained and competent staff. Processes were in place to monitor if people had received their medicines as prescribed. The provider operated robust recruitment processes to ensure suitable staff were recruited. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and staff underwent relevant pre-employment checks to assess their suitability for their role.

People’s needs had been assessed with them and their care was provided in accordance with legislation and good practice guidance. Staff received a thorough induction to their role, to enable them to provide effective care. Staff received on-going professional support in their role, through training, supervisions and professional development. Where required staff accessed additional training to ensure they could meet people’s specific care needs. Staff had undertaken palliative care training, to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to support people who required end of life care.

Staff worked both together within the service and across organisations to deliver people’s care and treatment. People were well supported by staff with their healthcare needs.

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.

People told us they were content and happy with the care and service they received. Staff were instructed to involve people in decisions about the delivery of their day-to-day care. People were provided with information about the service to inform their decision-making. Staff respected people and their homes and strove to uphold their independence wherever possible.

Staff understood people’s individuals care needs, their preferences and what was important to them. Staff supported people to pursue their interests where commissioned to provide this type of care. The provider was in the process of introducing electronic care plans, which will increase the responsiveness of the service following changes in people’s care needs. Staff worked in partnership with key organisations to ensure the effective provision of people’s care.

Staff were passionate about their work and feedback from people about the quality of care provided was very positive. The service had a clear management structure and staff understood what was expected of them. People and staff were engaged and involved with the service. Staff had arranged a Royal Wedding tea party, which people enjoyed. Processes were in place to enable the provider to monitor the quality of the service provided and to identify potential areas for improvement. People were not all aware of the complaints policy, which they had been provided with, but they all felt able to raise any complaints with the office. Any complaints received had been investigated in accordance with the provider’s policy.