Background to this inspection
Updated
5 February 2021
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 completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service’s nominated individual (legal representative of the company) was also the registered manager. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. For the purposes of this report we will refer to them as the registered person.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that there would be someone in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 16 December 2020 and ended on 24 December 2020. We visited the office location on 18 December 2020.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service, including provider and registered manager registration reports. We used this information to plan our 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.
During the inspection, we gathered information from:
Two relatives of people who used the service
Two people's care records
Records relating to the running of the service such as policies and procedures, staff recruitment and training records.
We spoke with the registered person.
We spoke with two staff members.
Updated
5 February 2021
About the service
Trafalgar House Business Centre is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care for people who require this due to old age, illness or disability. At the time of the inspection the agency was providing care for two people living in Hampshire.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Recruitment procedures of staff members had not ensured all necessary checks had been completed.
Risk assessments in relation to people’s home environment were needed to help ensure the safety of people and staff.
We identified additional procedural policies were required and some amendments were needed to other policies to ensure they covered all aspects of the service provided to people living in their own homes. The registered person promptly made the necessary changes.
We recommend that the registered person refers to current guidance and best practice to ensure there is an effective system and processes in place in relation to robust recruitment and policies and procedures.
Family members were positive about the care their relative received. They told us staff were kind and caring and knew their relative’s preferences.
People received individualised care which met their needs. Staff members told us they were provided with information about the person's care needs. Care plans included information about possible risks and covered areas such as mobility; health and medicines; personal care and potential abuse that may occur due to their needs.
Staff told us they enjoyed their work. One staff member provided most of the care for both people. This meant that people and staff had the opportunity to get to know each other well. Appropriate systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.
Staff members had completed most training relevant for the work they were to undertake. Staff were trained in infection control and confirmed they had been provided with personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and aprons.
Relatives and staff felt the service was well-managed.
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) This service was registered with us on 9/05/2019 and commenced providing a personal care service in June 2020. This is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the length of time since the service was registered and when they commenced providing a personal care service.
We have rated the service Good.
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.