High Peak Carers

Updated 15 June 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one 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.

Service and service type:

High Peak Carers is a domiciliary care agency, providing care and support to people in their own homes. The provide care to predominantly older people, including people living with dementia. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the CQC. 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 because we wanted to ensure the registered manager would be available. We also wanted to arrange to visit some people using the service in their own home.

Inspection site visit activity started on 1 May 2019 and ended on 15 May 2019.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from a number of sources. We also looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the CQC by the registered manager. We requested the provider to complete 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. The registered manager had completed a PIR and we used this information to assist with planning the inspection.

We visited three people in their home we discussed their care plan and observed staff interactions. We spoke with a further ten people over the telephone to obtain their feedback. We also spoke with nine relatives on the telephone.

We spoke with ten staff including care support workers, the care co-ordinator, the general manager, the accountant and the registered manager. We looked at documentation relating to three people who used the service, two staff files and information relating to the management of the service.

Updated 15 June 2019

About the service:

High Peak Carers is a domiciliary care agency proving care and support to people in their own homes in the community. The service provides support to prominently older people, including people living with dementia.

On the day of our inspection 76 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they were safe. The providers processes and practices protected people from abuse. There were enough staff to ensure people’s needs were met. Recruitment procedures followed safe practices. Staff told us they were given time to provide care and support that was unrushed. People’s medicines were managed safely, the provider was changing the systems at the time of our inspection to improve the documentation to ensure consistency. Risks assessments were in place and risks were managed in a way that did not restrict people’s freedom. These were being improved at the time of our visit. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection.

Staff supported people to make their own decisions and choices. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable and understood the principles of The Mental Capacity Act.

Peoples nutritional needs were met. People who required support with their diet had their needs met by staff that understood their dietary requirements. Staff received effective training to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and told us they were well supported and supervised by the management.

People spoke very positively about the care and support they received. Care staff were described as exceptional, being very well trained, professional in their attitude and very caring towards people. Everyone had a small number of regular care staff who they really valued. People told us staff were kind, caring and considerate. People also confirmed staff maintained their dignity and respected them. People and their relatives we spoke with said staff were dedicated and passionate about providing good standards of care and support.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. Care plans were being improved at the time of our inspection and were to be more detailed and person-centred. They were being developed with the people who used the service to ensure their wishes and choices were captured and followed. People were supported at the end of their lives.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received. The registered manager kept detailed records of concerns that evidenced any issues were actioned promptly and satisfactorily.

People told us they were listened to and had opportunity to raise concerns if required. People we spoke with said they had no concerns. They said the service was excellent. One person had raised a concern and told us it was dealt with immediately by the management and resolved.

People’s feedback was used to make changes to the service.

The home had a registered manager who conducted a range of audits in areas such as, medicine management, health and safety, care plans and daily records documentation. We saw the monitoring identified areas for improvement and any actions raised as part of the audits were addressed.

More information in Detailed Findings below:

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (report published October 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating awarded at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. We plan to complete a further inspection in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated good. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.