Amber Home Carers

Updated 5 April 2022

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.

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

This inspection was announced and took place on 11 March 2022. The service was given 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with the registered manager. We contacted 14 people and their relatives, 12 staff and 11 health care professionals, to get their experience and views about the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care and medicine records. We looked at eight staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included staff rotas, spot checks, observations and audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 5 April 2022

About the service

Amber Home Carers is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to 75 people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 60 people using the service were receiving personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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

A safe service was provided for people to use and staff to work in. People’s needs were met, and they were supported by enough appropriately recruited staff. This meant people were able to enjoy their lives and live in a safe way. Risks to people using the service and staff were assessed, monitored and updated when required. The provider reported, investigated and recorded accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns appropriately. Medicines were safely administered. The agency met shielding and social distancing rules, used Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) safely and effectively and had an up to date infection prevention and control policy.

The provider had a culture that was honest, open, and positive with transparent leadership and management. There was a statement of purpose that clearly defined the provider’s vision and values. Staff understood and followed them and were aware of their responsibilities and accountability. They were prepared to take responsibility and report any concerns they may have. The provider regularly reviewed service quality and changes were made accordingly to improve the care and support people received. This was in a manner which best suited people. The provider established effective working partnerships that promoted the needs of people being met outside its remit to reduce social isolation. Registration requirements were met.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 1 February 2018) and there were no breaches of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

CQC has introduced focused/targeted inspections to follow up on previous breaches and to check specific concerns. We undertook a focused inspection approach to review the key questions of Safe, and Well-led.

As no concerns were identified in relation to the key questions is the service Effective, Caring and Responsive, we decided not to inspect them. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Amber Home Carers on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

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