3 County Care

Updated 29 February 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and was announced.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a domiciliary care agency and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We visited the office location on 3 February 2020.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we looked at all the information we had collected about the service including notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. 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 with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records. These included three people’s care records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance, recruitment information for three staff, incidents and accidents, supervision, spot checks and observations, policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We received feedback from three relatives and three staff members. We looked at further training data, policies and recruitment information for three staff members sent to us after the inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service and received one response.

Updated 29 February 2020

About the service

3 County Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to people who have dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health, physical disability, as well as older people.

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. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to three people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were protected from the risks of abuse and relatives felt reassured with the staff providing their support and care. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and would deal with them appropriately. Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while living as independent a life as possible. The registered manager scheduled visits so the same staff went to see people to maintain continuity of care and support. People were informed about the changes to their visits as necessary. The service did not support anyone with medicine at the time of inspection.

We have recommended that future ongoing staff training be updated in line with the latest best practice guidelines for social care staff.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. 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.

People were treated with care, respect, kindness and their dignity was upheld. This was confirmed by people’s relatives who provided feedback. People and relatives were consulted about their care and support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. People's diverse needs were identified and met and their right to confidentiality was protected.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. The registered manager and staff worked well together for the benefit of people and were focused on the needs of the people using the service.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. The registered manager encouraged feedback from people and families, which they would use to make improvements to the service and protect people against the risks of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care and treatment.

The registered manager had oversight in the monitoring of the running of the service, the quality of the service being delivered and took actions promptly to address any issues. The registered manager praised the staff team for their hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 24 May 2017. The service was dormant from then until September 2019. This is the first inspection after the dormancy ended.

Why we inspected

This was a first planned inspection based on the registration date and the end of dormancy.

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.