Archived: Fen Homecare

Updated 7 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 undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This person is also the provider for Anglian Care and Domestic Support Services Limited. This means that they 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 December 2019 and ended on 17 December 2019. We visited the office location on 12 December 2019.

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 sought feedback from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff, including the registered manager, director and the compliance and training manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 7 January 2020

About the service

Fen Homecare, provides personal and domestic care and support in people’s own homes. At the time of the inspection 39 people were using the service.

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. At the time of our inspection 34 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

The management team completed regular checks and monitoring of the service. However, these checks had not identified areas that required improvement. Not all identified risks had a relevant risk assessment in place. People’s changing needs were not always reflected in their care plans. The provider was implementing better documentation in relation to mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions.

People received safe support from staff who received appropriate training. The provider had a robust recruitment process in place. People told us they received good support and care in areas such as health needs, medicines management and meals. Accidents and incidents were monitored to ensure appropriate actions were taken.

Staff promoted people’s choice and independence. People were involved with decision about their care and support. Staff understood the importance of infection control.

People and relatives were happy with the care provided by Fen Homecare staff. People told us the care staff were kind, caring and compassionate. People had the opportunity to express their views and had developed caring relationships with staff. People had access to other professionals to ensure their health needs were met.

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 21/12/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the registration date.

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.