Background to this inspection
Updated
3 September 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
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and one assistant inspector.
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 small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 16 July 2019 and ended on 29 July 2019. We visited the office location on 16 July 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, the NHS clinical commissioning group and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
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 this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including, the registered manager, the care coordinator and four care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and two care staff members records. We looked at records in relation to training and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, the recruitment policy and procedure and references for staff.
Updated
3 September 2019
About the service
Person Centered Care Northants is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to younger adults, living with physical disability or learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. People are supported in their own houses. At the time of our inspection there were nine people using the service.
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
Recruitment procedures were under review at the time of our inspection. Following our inspection, the registered manager provided evidence that they would be completing more robust checks on the suitability of staff. We saw no evidence that people had been at risk of harm because staff had been reference checked and had current DBS checks in place.
Staff had received training in how to protect people from abuse and knew how to report concerns. Medicines were managed safely and people were protected from the risk of infection by the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and good hygiene practices.
There were enough suitably trained staff available to meet people’s needs and provide person centred care. People’s choices and preferences were considered and respected in the assessment and care planning process. End of life decisions were not routinely discussed and we have recommended that the provider consider current guidance around this. However, staff were trained in supporting people at the end of their life and had access to professional guidance when needed.
People were supported to access health care services when they needed to. The staff and management team worked well in partnership with other professionals and feedback from professionals was positive.
The registered manager and provider had good oversight of the quality of the service. There was a culture of continued learning and improvement and we found the registered manager had been open and transparent when things had gone wrong. We also found they had a good understanding of their responsibilities and the regulatory requirements.
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.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 21 August 2018).
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.