Rutland House

Updated 4 September 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. 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

The 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

We gave the service 24 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.

Inspection activity started on 6 August 2019 and ended on 12 August 2019. We visited the office location on 6 August and 12 August 2019.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications sent to us by the provider and other information we held on our database about the service. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection-

We contacted two people using the service and were able to speak with one person. We spoke with the relatives of two people using the service. During the office site visit we looked at records, which included three people's care plans, daily care records. We checked three staff recruitment files, training and supervision records. We also looked at a range of records about how the service was managed. We spoke with the provider of the company who is also the registered manager and we spoke with two care staff.

Updated 4 September 2019

About the service

Rutland House is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. There were two people receiving the regulated activity of personal care at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Robust recruitment processes were not in place to protect people from unsuitable staff. We have made a recommendation for the provider to improve recruitment practices.

People were protected from avoidable harm and they felt safe with staff who cared for them. Risks were identified, assessed and acted on. People received support from a small and consistent team of staff. People did not need support from staff with their medicines. The provider had the processes in place to investigate and act on any accidents and incidents and share information with staff.

People’s care and support was provided in line with their assessed needs and protected them from discrimination. 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 support this practice. Staff received the support they required and had access to training.

Staff were kind and caring. People told us they were supported in a way that ensured they felt in control of their care and staff were respectful. People's dignity and privacy was maintained. Effective processes were in place to store records safely and in line with data protection legislation.

People had individualised care plans. Although plans considered people's preferences, likes and dislikes they did sometimes lack detail to ensure staff were fully aware of how to meet an assessed need.

People and their relatives knew who to speak to if they wanted to raise a concern. They felt confident the registered manager would listen to them.

The registered manager was supportive in the way they worked with staff. They looked at ways to improve the service including accessing training. Staff felt supported and people were confident in the service. The registered manager liaised with other health and social care professionals when it was appropriate.

This service was registered with us on 31 July 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service was registered.

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