21 January 2020
During a routine inspection
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.