Background to this inspection
Updated
23 June 2016
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 took place on 9 May 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that staff would be available.
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience who contacted people by phone following the inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
We reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us. Notifications are details that the provider is required to send to us to inform us about incidents that have happened at the service, such as accidents or a serious injury. We liaised with the Local Authority Commissioning team to identify any areas we may wish to focus upon in the planning of this inspection. We sent out 46 questionnaires to people who used the service and their relatives and received 23 back and included this feedback in the body of the report.
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.
People who used the service were not able to speak with us by telephone due to their complex needs related to their dementia. However, we spoke with the relatives of ten people who received support from the service who told us about their experiences of the service.
The registered manager was on leave during the inspection, but we spoke with the operations manager, the services manager, two deputy managers and five care staff members. We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and how the service was managed. This included looking at the care provided to five people by reviewing their care records. We reviewed two staff recruitment records, recordings of compliments and complaints, staff training records, minutes of staff meetings and a variety of quality assurance audits.
Updated
23 June 2016
This inspection took place on 9 May 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because we wanted to make sure staff would be available to answer any questions we had or provide information that we needed. We also wanted the registered manager to ask people who used the service if we could contact them.
The service is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. The service provides support to younger and older people and people living with a dementia type illness. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support and personal care to 36 people in their own homes.
At our last inspection on 22 February 2014, the service was meeting all of the regulations that we assessed.
A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
People were supported by care staff who had received training in how to recognise possible signs of abuse and how to report any concerns. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in this area and what actions they should take to keep people safe from harm. Staff were aware of the risks to people on a daily basis and how to manage those risks. For those people who were supported to take their medication, systems were in place to ensure this was done safely.
People were supported by care staff who received regular training to ensure they had the skills to meet the needs of the people they supported. Additional information and support was available and care staff had the opportunity to attend training in specialist areas in order to develop their skills and knowledge.
Staff were recruited safely and appropriately and received an induction and opportunities to shadow colleagues prior to commencing in post.
Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act [MCA] and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards [DoLS], and what it meant for the people they supported. People were able to give their consent before they were supported.
Staff were aware of people’s nutrition and health care needs and supported people appropriately.
People were supported by care staff who were kind and caring and maintained their privacy and dignity whilst providing care.
People were involved in the development of their care plans to ensure that care staff knew how to support them the way they wanted to be supported.
People’s care needs were regularly reviewed and care staff kept up to date with any changes in their care or support.
There was a system in place for investigating and recording complaints and people were confident that if they did have any concerns, that they would be dealt with appropriately. The management and staff group were described as supportive and people considered the service to be well led.
People were happy to recommend the service to others, based on their own positive experiences. Responses received from completed questionnaires, demonstrated that people were happy with the service they received.
Staff felt listened to and well supported and able to contribute to the running of the service.
A number of audits were in place to assess the quality of the service provided. Efforts were regularly made to obtain feedback from people who used the service, in order to improve the quality of the service to people.