Archived: HomeLife Carers (Barnstaple)

Updated 29 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was conducted by one inspector, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience with experience of care of older people. An expert by experience is a person who had personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

Homelife Carers (Barnstaple) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the North Devon area. Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity; 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 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 announced comprehensive inspection took place on 7 and 10 May 2019. The provider was given short notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

We visited the office location on 7 May 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR 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. We also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke to 15 people and five relatives to ask their views of the service they received. We also spoke with 12 members of staff, which included the registered manager. We visited two people in their own homes.

We reviewed six people’s care files, three staff files, staff training records and a selection of policies, procedures and records relating to the management of the service. After our visit we sought feedback from health and social care professionals to obtain their views of the service provided to people. Unfortunately, we did not receive any feedback.

Updated 29 May 2019

About the service:

Homelife Carers (Barnstaple) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the North Devon area. Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; 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. At the time of our inspection 420 people were receiving ‘personal care.’

People’s experience of using this service:

The service provided safe care to people. One person commented: “When it comes to safety, I can’t praise them highly enough. I’d recommend them to Buckingham Palace.” Measures to manage risk were as least restrictive as possible to protect people’s freedom. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

Care files were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. Their views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff provided care that was kind and compassionate. People commented: "We know the staff well now they act like we are friends, always very cheery" and "They (staff) don't just come here to do a job. They treat me as a real person with rights, needs and feelings."

There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People received effective care and support from staff who were well trained and competent.

Staff spoke positively about communication and how the management team worked well with them and encouraged their professional development.

A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received. The service made continuous improvements in response to their findings.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published in November 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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