Chalk Hills Healthcare Ltd

Updated 13 March 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Chalk Hills Healthcare Ltd 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

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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with CQC. This included information sent to us by the provider or shared with us by the local authority. 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.

During the inspection

We visited the office on 6 February 2020 and spoke with two staff who supported the registered manager with administrative tasks and staff training. We spoke with the registered manager, who is also the provider’s nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included care and medicines records for four people. We looked at three staff files to review the provider’s recruitment, training and staff supervision processes. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including some policies and procedures, audits and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We made telephone calls on 11 and 14 February 2020. We spoke with one person using the service, three relatives, three care staff, and a driver who transported care staff to visit people. We received feedback from a representative of the local authority that worked closely with the service.

Updated 13 March 2020

About the service

Chalk Hills Healthcare Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, eight people were being supported by the service.

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

People said they received good care and they were supported well by staff to meet their needs. People and relatives said staff were kind, caring, friendly, and provided care in a respectful manner. Everyone said the service was good and they found the registered manager to be approachable and responsive to suggestions for improvements. One relative said, “I’m happy for them to continue providing care to [person]. They are very lovely people and I get on with them.”

People received safe care and they were protected from harm. Staff knew how to identify and report concerns. Potential risks to people’s health and wellbeing were managed well. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to provide safe care. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Lessons were learnt from incidents to prevent recurrence. Staff had the right equipment and skills to prevent the spread of infections.

Staff had been trained well to meet people's needs. Their competence to support people well was regularly assessed. Where required, people had been supported to have enough to eat and drink. Staff supported people to access healthcare services when required. This helped people to maintain their health and well-being.

Staff were respectful in how they interacted with people and supported them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received personalised care to meet their needs. Care plans contained enough information about people’s needs which guided staff on how to support people well. Complaints were followed up and improvements made when required. The registered manager was going to do more to keep a record of people’s wishes about how they wanted to be supported at the end of their lives.

The provider had systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager and staff were motivated to provide the best service they could for people and their relatives. They were keen to learn and take steps to further improve the service.

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 19 March 2019 and this was 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.