Head Office

Updated 16 January 2020

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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 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 and ended on 26 November 2019. We visited the office location on 26 November 2019. Due to the nature of the service we were unable to speak with anybody who used the service or a family member.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it became registered with the Care Quality Commission. We sought feedback from the local authority and from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

At the time of our inspection the provider was only supporting one person who was receiving end of life care. Therefore, we were unable to speak to them about their experience of using the service. In addition, due a change in circumstances shortly after the visit to the office we were also unable to speak with any relatives of the person or any relatives of other people who had previously received a service from the provider.

We spoke with the provider and the registered manager and one member of staff.

We reviewed the records available at the office at the time of the inspection including care records of a person who had previously received a service and relating to a member of staff.

After the inspection

Following the inspection, we received information confirming we would not be able to speak with the person who had received a service.

Updated 16 January 2020

About the service

Head Office is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection one person was receiving a service.

Where people receive a service in their own home 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

Due to the nature of the service provided we were not able to speak with anyone who had experienced the quality of the service. In addition, we were unable to speak with any family members about their experience.

We found improvements were needed in relation of the documents we viewed to ensure people received a safe service. It was not always possible to establish when people had needed medicine administered to them. Protocols when other providers were involved in administration of medicines were not in place to ensure they were administered safely and when a variable dose was prescribed.

Care plans viewed were incomplete and did not provide information to ensure consistent support. Risk assessments regarding personal care and people’s home environments were not always either in place or completed to ensure staff had information available considering people’s safety.

Management systems had not identified the shortfalls in the records completed by staff identified during this inspection.

The provider had procedures in place to report any actual or allegations of abuse. The provider planned to recruit additional staff and was aware of safe recruitment processes.

Staff had received training to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to provide care and support. The registered manager and staff we spoke with demonstrated a desire to provide a caring and supportive service to people.

Healthcare professionals were involved in people’s care both prior to a service commencing and ongoing as needed.

From what we could establish people supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.

The registered manager was aware of the need to inform the Care Quality Commission of certain events although it was found one notification had not been sent as they initially believed. They were also aware of the need to be open and honest if things went wrong.

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

This service was registered with us on 27/11/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service first became 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.