Newferry

Updated 15 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 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

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 16 March 2020 and ended on 20 March 2020. We visited the office location on 16 March 2020.

What we did before 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 looked at the information we already held about the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff, the provider, registered manager, and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We were unable to speak with people receiving care from Newferry.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three 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 continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and policies.

Updated 15 April 2020

.About the service

Newferry is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to three people in the community at the time of the inspection.

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

Relatives we spoke with told us that they felt people were safe however, during the course of the inspection we identified concerns with the service. Medicines were not always managed safely, medicines records were not always consistent with the care and support people received. The provider did not have systems in place for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service however, there had been little oversight of the service.

The provider had policies in place covering a range of topics however the practice of the staff did not always match the policies.

We have made a recommendation about safe induction, training supervision and documentation in regard to consent.

Enough staff were available and effectively deployed to ensure people's needs were met. The service followed appropriate recruitment checks. Staff followed infection control procedures to minimise the spread of diseases. Before people started using the service their needs were assessed. People were supported with food and drink for their health and well-being. People were supported to maintain good health and staff engaged with healthcare professionals to provide care and treatment where required. People and their relatives said they knew how to make a complaint and were confident their complaints would be addressed.

Care plans we saw contained details about people’s routines, preferences and how staff were to support them. However, care plan records did not always contain consistent information.

Relatives were complimentary of the care and support they or their loved ones received from staff that were kind, compassionate and treated them respectfully.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected, and their independence promoted. People and their relatives were involved in making decisions about their care and support needs and their views were respected.

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.

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 20/05/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staff training and governance. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to medication and governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.