Background to this inspection
Updated
14 March 2019
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: The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.
Service and service type: Heart of the South is a domiciliary care service. Staff deliver personal care support to people living in their own homes.
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: This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 07 February 2019 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service to people who lived in the community. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises to look at records and visit people in their own homes.
What we did: Before the inspection we completed our planning; tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports.
We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the commissioning departments who used the service. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.
As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection visit we spoke with a range of people about Heart of the South and with consent visited two people at home who used the service. We spoke with the registered manager and care coordinator, an administrator and training coordinator. We also spoke with a staff member and contacted two staff following the inspection site visit.
Updated
14 March 2019
About the service: Heart of the South is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes in Cornwall. Bespoke packages of care and support are tailored for mainly adults with some packages providing 24 hours support. At the time of the inspection seven people were receiving support.
People’s experience of using this service:
The service had systems to ensure risks were managed and people were kept safe. People received effective care from a well-supported and trained staff team.
People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs and preferences. 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.
Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s abilities and promoting independence. Staff had built positive caring relationships with people they supported and their families.
Care plans adopted a person-centred method of supporting people. Information focused on what support was required and people or their representatives had consented to receive support from Heart of the South.
People supported by the service told us they were treated with respect and by caring staff. Comments included, “They have been so supportive of me and making sure my needs are met” and “Having the support here means I can stay in my own house. I feel very well cared for”
Staff were motivated by and proud of the service. One staff member said, "I just feel we do a great job and it means clients don’t have to go into a care setting.” There was an emphasis on continuous improvement with staff having the opportunity to gain additional qualifications. A staff member said, “We are really encouraged to do more training. The managers are behind us in that.”
Staff had opportunities to raise concerns or suggestions and be involved in the development of the service.
The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice and people in their care were safe.
The registered manager and management team used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included staff meetings, spot checks, auditing of the service and surveys to seek people’s views about the service provided.
Rating at last inspection: Good. The last inspection report was published 7 October 2016.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains Good.
Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our inspection schedule for those services rated Good.