Background to this inspection
Updated
1 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
One inspector visited the service.
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 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
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 reviewed information we had received about the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We visited three people receiving the service and spoke by telephone to two people and three relatives to ask them about their experience of the care provided. We looked at three people's care records.
We spoke with the registered manager and with five members of staff which included three care staff and two office staff. We looked at systems for recruitment, induction, supervision and at staff training records. We also looked at quality monitoring records relating to the management of the service such as 'spot checks' and feedback. We sought feedback from commissioners, and health and social care professionals who worked with staff. We received a response from three of them.
Updated
1 January 2020
About the service
Mi Casa Care is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the Taunton, Wellington and Bridgwater areas of Somerset. The service has only been operating since the beginning of November.
At the time of the inspection the agency was providing personal care for fifteen people and employed five members of staff. 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, relatives and professionals praised staff and said they were very caring and compassionate. Staff knew each person as an individual, and what mattered to them. People said they were treated with dignity and respect and staff promoted their independence.
People said they felt safe and well cared for and that the service was reliable. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew about the different types of abuse, and ways to protect people.
People's care was personalised to their wishes and preferences and took account of their personal circumstances, although individual care records could be more detailed. People were consulted and involved in decisions about their care.
People received consistent support from well-trained staff who knew them well. People praised the quality of service they received and told us they would recommend it to other people who required this type of support. Incidents were used as opportunities to learn and improve.
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. Staff made sure people's legal rights were respected.
The agency was well led by the registered manager who was also a director of the company. They worked alongside staff in day to day practice and sought feedback from people and staff to continually improve. The service worked well with other health and social care professionals to support people.
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.
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.