Background to this inspection
Updated
20 February 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 team consisted of one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements.
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 two working days’ notice of the inspection. This because we needed people and staff to be fully informed an inspection was taking place, and for the registered manager to arrange phone calls to people who used the service. We also wanted to ensure the registered manager and/or provider would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection site visit activity started on 21 January 2020 and ended on 11 February 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at statutory notifications the provider had made to us about important events. In addition, we reviewed all other information sent to us from stakeholders such as the local authority and members of the public.
We also contacted Plymouth City Council adult social care commissioning team, and Healthwatch Plymouth for their feedback. 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 and people’s feedback to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We contacted (by telephone) 8 people and/or their relatives who used the service for their views.
In addition, we spoke with seven members of care staff, and the registered manager who was also the provider.
We looked at four staff recruitment files, four care plans for people who used the service, four recruitment files, policies and procedures, complaints, and compliments.
After the inspection
We received feedback from a social worker, and we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
20 February 2020
About the service
Collingswood Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to older people within Plymouth.
At the time of the inspection the agency supported people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health needs, and people living with dementia. The service also provided care and support to people who were at the end of their life.
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 the inspection the agency supported 58 people with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us staff were kind and caring and were supported as individuals. People’s care plans recognised the importance of their individuality and staff received training in equality and diversity.
People told us they felt safe when staff entered their homes, staff had a uniform and identification badge, so people could identify them on arrival. People told us staff mostly arrived on time, but if they there was a delay they would be informed.
People felt staff had the skills and training to meet their needs, and they were treated with respect and their independence was promoted.
People received an assessment of their needs prior to using the service. Assessments were used to create individual care plans so staff would know how people wanted and wished their care to be delivered. However, care plans were not always personalised and made statements without further details. Records showed, people were supported to maintain good health and were referred to appropriate health professionals as 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.
People told us they were happy with the support they received with their medicines. Staff received training in medicines administration and had an assessment of their ongoing competency.
Staff received training in infection control. Spot checks of staffs practice helped to ensure they were putting their training into practice.
People's communication needs were assessed, and they were detailed within their care plans, and shared appropriately amongst staff. Records could be produced in different formats, such as large print as required.
People and relatives felt the service was well managed. The registered manager was very visible and had a ‘hands on’ approach within the organisation.
We recommend that people’s care plans are personalised to ensure they reflect their nutritional preferences, and how a person wants and prefers their care and support to be delivered.
More information is in Detailed Findings below.
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)
This service was registered with us on 07/02/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.