Background to this inspection
Updated
11 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
Two inspectors visited the service and one Expert by Experience undertook telephone calls to people and relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
Prior to the inspection we looked at the information we held about the service, including feedback, complaints and notifications the provider is required to send to us by law. We also sought feedback from a number of professionals about their views of the service. 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
During the inspection we spoke with eight people and four relatives over the telephone. We also spoke with 12 staff members. These included six care staff, a team co-ordinator, the training managers, a senior member of management, the newly recruited manager, and the registered manager who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision, training records, five care files, medication records, call monitoring information as well as a range of records relating to the operation and management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the service to validate evidence found.
Updated
11 February 2020
About the service
Homecare For You Preston is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 129 people were receiving care from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff were recruited safely and sufficient staff were in place. Most people told us staff usually arrived on time for their visits however, some people said they were not always informed when staff were going to be late. Risks were managed safely and people were protected from the risks of abuse. Medicines were managed safely.
People told us, staff asked permission before undertaking any care or activity. The service took action to ensure capacity assessments had been completed where 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. A range of training was provided to the staff team. The feedback was mainly positive about the skills of the staff team. Professionals were positive about the service.
People received good care and they were involved in decisions. People’s individual and diverse needs were considered. Staff were matched to people according to their preference, needs, culture and gender.
Care files contained information to support the care for people however, most people could not confirm a review of their care had taken place. People were supported to access the community where relevant, technology was being used to develop visit schedules and monitor call logs. A system to deal with complaints was in place. The registered manager discussed an ongoing complaint currently under investigation.
Audits and monitoring was taking place. Staff told us and records confirmed team meetings had been completed, the registered manager told us surveys and questionnaires were planned in the near future. We received positive feedback about the registered manager. A new manager was in post and was in the process of applying to the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager going forward.
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 26/02/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned 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.