Background to this inspection
Updated
1 November 2019
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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and one 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
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. They specialise in end of life care and support.
Notice of inspection
Due to the sensitivity of the care provided by the service, the provider was given 3 working days' notice of our visit. This was so people who used the service could be told of our visit and asked if they would be happy to speak with us over the telephone.
Inspection activity started on 8 October 2019 and ended on 9 October 2019. We visited the office location on 9 October 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed all the information we held about the service, including changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send us within the required timescales. We contacted professionals in local authority commissioning teams, the clinical commissioning group and safeguarding teams. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and four relatives over the telephone. We spoke with two members of staff: the registered manager, and an administration assistant.
We looked at two people's care plans, risk assessments and medicines records. We reviewed staff training and recruitment documentation, quality assurance systems, a selection of the home's policies and procedures and lessons learned documentation.
After the inspection
We contacted a further two external health and social care professionals by email and four members of staff over the telephone.
Updated
1 November 2019
About the service
The Beacon is a domiciliary care provider in Newcastle supporting people with personal care in their own home. They specialise in end of life care and support. There were five people were in receipt of personal care at the time of inspection.
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.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe and well supported by staff. Risk assessments were detailed and person-centred, meaning staff had clear instructions to support people and reduce risks.
Medicines were administered and audited in line with established best practice. Policies, procedures and staff knowledge reflected this. The registered manager assessed staff competence on a regular basis.
Record keeping and quality assurance processes were clear. The registered manager was committed to identifying ways of continually improving the service.
Processes were in place to ensure pre-employment checks took place.
Out of hours emergency arrangements were in place. There had been no missed calls and people told us staff arrived on time, stayed for the duration of the planned call and never appeared rushed.
Staff were well trained and supported to meet people’s needs confidently and effectively.
Staff liaised well with external healthcare professionals to ensure people received the help they required.
People and their relatives gave consistently positive praise about the caring and compassionate approach of staff.
People felt involved in the planning and review of their care. This was enabled through introductory meetings and regular reviews.
The service delivered end of life care and support to people who wanted to remain in their own homes. They did this tactfully and with patience. All people and relatives we spoke with praised how sensitively staff conducted themselves.
People were encouraged to maintain levels of independence by staff who had regard to their likes, dislikes and individualities.
The service was well-led by a registered manager who took personal accountability and ensured the culture was open, supportive and inclusive.
Staff consistently described the registered manager as supportive and approachable. They took pride in working for the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at lastinspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 23 July 2019)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.