Background to this inspection
Updated
6 November 2018
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 the 9 October 2018. One inspector carried out the inspection. We gave the provider two days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the registered manager would be available during the inspection. Before the inspection we looked at all the information we had about the service. This information included statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the local authority and other professional organisations to obtain their views of the service. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.
As part of our inspection we spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s nominated individual, the provider’s recruitment and training coordinator and two care staff. We spoke with one relative by telephone to gain their view of the service they received. We looked at the care plans and records of two people using the service, three staff records including training, supervision and recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service such as audits and policies and procedures.
Updated
6 November 2018
This inspection took place on 9 October 2018. We gave the provider two days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the registered manager and staff would be available at the location. This was the first inspection of the service since they registered with the CQC in December 2017. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service. However only two people were receiving the regulated activity; personal care.
St Mary Cray is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. Not everyone using the service may receive the regulated activity; personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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.
There were policies and procedures in place to safeguard people from possible harm or abuse and staff were aware of the action to take if they had any concerns. Risks to people’s health and well-being were identified, assessed and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure people’s safety. There were systems in place for the monitoring, investigating and learning from incidents and accidents. People received their care on time and care staff stayed the required amount of time to ensure people were safe and their needs were met. There were safe robust staff recruitment practices in place to ensure staff were suitable to be employed in a social care environment. There were systems in place which ensured medicines were managed and administered safely by staff where required. At the time of our inspection there was no one using the service that required support with administering their medicines. There were systems in place to manage emergencies and to reduce the risk of infection.
Staff new to the service were provided with an in-depth induction into the service and their role. Staff told us they felt supported to do their job and received regular training, supervision and annual appraisals of their work performance. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff work together to ensure that people receive consistent, coordinated and person-centred care and support. People were supported to meet their nutrition and hydration needs and had access to health and social care professionals when required.
People told us they were consulted about their care and support needs and were provided with information that met their needs to help support decision making. People told us staff treated them with respect, their independence was encouraged and their privacy and dignity was maintained at all times. The service involved people and treated them with compassion and kindness. People received personalised care that met their needs and wishes. Care plans and assessments considered the support people required with regard to any protected characteristics they had under the Equality Act 2010. Assessments allowed for people to document any end of life and palliative care needs and wishes they had, should they so wish. Staff we spoke with told us they felt the service was very responsive to people’s needs and they worked closely with health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were appropriately met. People told us they were aware of the provider’s complaints procedure and would raise any concerns if they needed to.
People spoke very positively about the staff that supported them and how well they thought the service was managed. Staff told us they felt very well supported by the registered manager, they received good training and the registered manager was always available to them day and night offering guidance when they needed it. There were effective leadership and communication systems within the service and staff told us they regularly attended supervision, training and team meetings within the office. Systems in place ensured the registered manager and provider took account of the views of people using the service, their relatives and staff. There were effective systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service that people received. The service worked well with external organisations, health and social care professionals and the local community to ensure people’s needs were safely met and to help improve the quality of the service provided.