Background to this inspection
Updated
1 April 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 carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides live-in 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. Inspection activity started on 5 February 2020 and ended on 6 February 2020. We visited the office location on 6 February 2020.
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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager and two support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We contacted three professionals who was a working relationship with the service for their feedback. We also sought the feedback from three relatives.
Updated
1 April 2020
About the service
Whitehawk Inn is a domiciliary care agency that provides a live-in care service to people in their own home. At the time of the inspection four people were receiving a service in the homes in Sussex, Surrey and London.
At the time of the inspection, everyone who used the service received personal care. However, not everyone who uses this type of service will receive 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported by staff who knew their needs well and provided person centred and responsive support. The registered manager led the staff to deliver person centred care, which had achieved good outcomes for people.
People were protected from avoidable harm and abuse. Safeguarding policies and procedures were embedded within practice and were consistently followed. Staff had recognised signs of abuse and had reported any concerns.
Staff ensured that people’s physical, mental and emotional needs and wishes were the focus of their support. People were encouraged to live healthy lives and received food of their choice.
People received kind and compassionate support. Staff encouraged and promoted people’s independence. People told us they were treated with respect and dignity and supported to make decisions about their care.
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, staff and relatives all spoke positively about the focus and dedication of the registered manager. People were supported by a management team that looked to ensure they received good person-centred care. The quality of care people received was audited and monitored by staff using effective quality assurance systems.
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 25/02/2019 and this is the first inspection since that registration. The last rating for this service was good (published 17 February 2017). Since this rating was awarded the service has moved premises and has changed the name of the service. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the timescales set out on our registration programme.
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.