Background to this inspection
Updated
17 October 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 conducted 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 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.
Inspection activity started on 12 September 2019 and ended on 13 September 2019. We visited the office location on 12 September 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, registered manager, senior care worker and caregivers - caregiver is a term used by the service for their care staff and will be used throughout this report.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and associated medication records. We looked at a staff file in relation to recruitment, and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
Updated
17 October 2019
About the service
Home Instead Senior Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 10 older people with a range of needs, some of whom are living with dementia. The service had been supporting some people for over a year.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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
People overwhelmingly described their caregivers as kind, caring and compassionate. People were treated with the utmost respect and were encouraged to live as dignified and as independently as possible. Peoples choices and wishes were respected. People were matched to their caregivers to ensure they had things in common and therefore make for a happy care experience.
People and their relatives all spoke positively of the service as a whole and spoke very highly of the leadership and registered manager. People were at the heart of the service, it had a strong person-centred ethos. The service proactively engaged with the local community and were always striving to improve. The registered manager understood the importance of quality monitoring to maintain high quality care standards. Staff were proud to work for the service and felt truly appreciated and supported.
People and their relatives were fully involved in developing their plans of care. Caregivers were provided with personalised information on how to best support people. People told us that caregivers took their time to get to know them as individuals and that they enjoyed their company. People said that they had no concerns but were confident that if they did they would be addressed immediately.
People had regular caregivers that they felt safe with and knew well. People’s risks were identified and assessed, caregivers were provided with clear guidelines on how to support people in a safe way. People were supported to have their medicines at the right times and in a safe manner.
People were supported by caregivers who had the appropriate skills and training. People were supported to eat and drink the food that they preferred. People were supported to access healthcare when required.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 09 August 2018 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.