Background to this inspection
Updated
7 May 2021
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
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
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
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 18 March 2021 and ended on 8 April 2021. We visited the office location on 18 March 2021. Following the on-site inspection, we completed the inspection via phone and e-mail. On 31 March 2021 telephone calls were made to staff and relatives to gain their feedback.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service and formal notifications that the service had sent to the CQC. Notifications are information that registered persons are required to tell us about by law that may affect people’s health and wellbeing.
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
During the office visit, we spoke with the registered manager and director of the service. We reviewed five staff recruitment records.
After the inspection
Following the on-site inspection, we spoke with one person that used the service, two relatives and three care staff. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records, care plans and risk assessments and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, such as policies and procedures, audits and feedback surveys. We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager about what we found.
Updated
7 May 2021
About the service
ACS Homecare LTD is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supported children and adults with both physical disabilities and/or cognitive impairments. At the time of the inspection there were three people receiving support from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relative’s felt safe with care staff that visited them. People’s risks were clearly documented and staff had appropriate guidance to keep people safe. Staff had received safeguarding training and were aware of their responsibilities around recognising and reporting concerns of abuse. Staff were recruited safely and appropriate background checks completed before staff started working. The service had provided effective staff training and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to manage the risks of COVID-19.
Staff received a good level of support to help them in their role. This included a robust induction process, regular training, support and annual appraisal. People’s support needs around food and drink was clearly documented in people’s care plans. 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 and relatives felt staff were, kind, respectful and understood their support needs. Care and support was tailored to each person according to their needs and lifestyle. This ensured people were able to have an active and fulfilled life. People were encouraged to do things for themselves where possible to maintain and promote their independence. Staff were aware of people’s religious and cultural needs.
Care plans were person centred and clearly documented how people wanted to receive their care.
People and relatives knew how to complain if there were any issues and were confident the registered manager would deal with it.
There was good management oversight of the service. Numerous audits and checks were completed to monitor and improve the quality of care. People were regularly asked for their feedback about the care they received via satisfaction surveys and telephone calls. People and relatives knew the registered manager and management team well and told us they felt able to talk to them about anything.
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 17/09/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.
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.