Background to this inspection
Updated
24 June 2021
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
This 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 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.
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
This 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 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 18 May 2021 and ended on 2 June 2021. We visited the office location on 2 June 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We reviewed information we requested from the provider to show the improvements they had made where a breach of regulation had been identified at the last inspection. We received feedback from the local authority. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with three people who used the service and one other person’s relative about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with five staff including the registered manager.
We reviewed a range of records. These included sampling four people’s care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service. These included policies and procedures, audits, and records relating to compliments and complaints.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate the evidence we found.
Updated
24 June 2021
About the service
Agile Care Services Peterborough is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults living in their own homes. Personal care was provided to 15 people at the time of the inspection.
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
This service had improved since our last inspection. People, relatives, and staff made positive comments about their experiences of the service.
At our last inspection we found the provider to be in breach of regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act (2008). Due to the improvements made since the last inspection the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.
The management team completed quality assurance audits. However, they had failed to identify that full employment histories had not been obtained for all staff prior to employment. After our inspection the registered manager explained they had requested this information from all existing staff. Going forward, they said this information would be obtained and assessed prior to employment. Where audits had identified shortfalls, they reviewed these, and recorded action plans or actions taken to bring about improvement.
The management team sought people’s views about the service and acted on their suggestions. People and a relative made positive comments about the service they received. They said the registered manager and management team were approachable and responsive.
People told us they trusted the staff who provided their care. All staff, including the registered manager, understood their responsibilities under safeguarding. They knew how to report and escalate any concerns. Staff were confident the management team would take any concerns they raised seriously.
People told us they were happy with the care they received. People’s risk assessments and care plans provided guidance for staff about people’s needs and preferences. They were reviewed regularly and when required. Medicines were well managed. The registered manager told us shortly after the inspection that they had made an improvement to the information for staff about medicines prescribed to be administered, “When required.” This would help improve consistency.
Staff received regular training which included infection prevention and control. Staff understood their roles and felt supported by the management team.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 7 August 2019). There was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 and 9 July 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance of the service.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive, and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agile Care Services Peterborough on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.