Background to this inspection
Updated
13 July 2022
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Experts by Experience. 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 homes. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This means the provider and registered manager were legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The new manager was in the process of registering with CQC.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
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 manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 27 June 2022 when we started calls to people using the service. We visited the location’s office on 29 June 2022.
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. Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service. This included any information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
During the inspection, we spoke with 14 people using the service and 23 relatives. We contacted eight care staff and spoke with the Registered manager, the compliance officer and the provider. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included care records for six people, staff training records, four staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service. We also contacted the local authorities to obtain their views of the service.
Updated
13 July 2022
About the service
Pioneering Care is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes in the Oxfordshire area. At the time of our inspection 38 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service. Not everyone using the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care, which 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 kept safe from abuse and harm, and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns. Risk assessments identified how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm. Staff understood the risks to people and delivered safe care in accordance with people's support plans. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. Robust recruitment processes aimed to ensure only suitable staff were selected to work with people.
People told us staff were mostly punctual, and no one told us they had experienced a missed visit. People were informed when their care visits would be taking place. Support visits were monitored through an electronic monitoring system that alerted management if staff were running late.
People, and staff spoke positively of the management; they found them approachable and supportive. Staff were given appropriate responsibility which was continuously monitored and checked by the registered manager. There were effective systems to monitor, maintain and improve the quality of the service.
The registered manager welcomed the inspection and engaged fully in the inspection process. They were open and honest and encouraged staff to do the same.
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
The last rating for this service was Good (published 27 March 2020).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about poor care, staff working without using Personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly, people being verbally abused, poor management and a closed culture within the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe and Well-Led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Pioneering Care Bicester Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.