Townfield Home Care (Rossendale)

Updated 9 January 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 comprehensive inspection took place on 10 and 11 December 2018 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 someone would be available in the office. The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

The provider was not asked to submit a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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.

In preparation for our visit, we looked at notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about) and information that had been sent to us by other agencies, including the local authority’s contract monitoring team.

During the inspection, we spoke with five people using the service, four relatives and three staff over the telephone. We also spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and the nominated individual at the agency’s office.

We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and the way the service was managed. These included the care records for three people, medicine administration records, staff training records, two staff recruitment files, staff supervision and appraisal records, minutes from meetings, quality assurance audits, incident and accident reports, complaints records and records relating to the management of the service. We also looked at a sample of policies and procedures and the most recent customer satisfaction questionnaires completed by people using the service.

Updated 9 January 2019

We carried out an announced inspection of Townfield Home Care (Rossendale) on 10 and 11 December 2018.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses. At the time of the inspection, 37 people were receiving a service from the agency with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability and people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people's assessed needs within the context of people's individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes.

The service had a manager in post, who was registered with the commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

This was the first inspection of the service since the location was registered on 12 January 2018.

People using the service told us they felt safe and staff treated them with respect. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Risks related to people's lives and wellbeing were assessed, monitored and reviewed to support people's safety. Risk assessments were detailed and contained information to help staff understand and manage any identified hazards. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs. Appropriate recruitment procedures were followed to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. People received their medicines safely and were supported to eat and drink in accordance with their care plan.

Staff had the knowledge and skills required to meet people's individual needs effectively. They completed an induction programme when they started work and were up to date with the provider's mandatory training. 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. People’s healthcare needs were monitored as appropriate and staff worked closely with social and healthcare professionals.

Staff were respectful of people’s privacy and maintained their dignity. All people spoken with told us the staff were kind and caring. People were involved in the development and review of their care plans. This meant people were able to influence the delivery of their care and staff had up to date information about people’s needs and wishes. People were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service, which included seeking and responding to feedback from people and their relatives in relation to the standard of care.