Background to this inspection
Updated
18 December 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 an 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, the current manager had submitted their application to be the registered manager at this 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.
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 1 December 2020 and ended on 3 December 20202. We visited the office location on 3 December 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one person who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, manager, field supervisor and two care workers. A social care professional who had commissioned the service gave us some feedback.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at two 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.
Updated
18 December 2020
About the service
Radfield Home Care, Liverpool South is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to eight people at the time of the inspection.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This 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's experience of using the service was positive. People were happy with the staff who visited them and felt safe with the support they provided. People received visits from regular staff.
People were contacted regularly by managers to review their service and to ensure they were happy with their service.
People spoke positively about the staff, the provider and managers. Their comments included, “[Name] is the best carer we've ever had. Trust her. Always asks if there is anything to do and does it. Can’t do enough to help” and “I am happy with the service and like the staff I get”.
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.
Staff received regular training to carry out the care and support people needed. They felt supported by the managers. There were enough staff employed to support people safely and at the times they preferred.
Staff had received additional training for infection control because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had a regular supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, aprons and people told us staff always wore this.
Staff told us they enjoyed working for the service. The management team completed regular quality audits and where actions were identified these were addressed to bring about improvements. The service worked effectively with social care commissioners. They described the support provided to people by the staff as ‘outstanding’ and the communication with the managers as ‘good’.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We responded to our current risk rating of this service, which showed the service as very high risk. As a result, we undertook an inspection to review evidence in all of the key questions. This service was registered with us on 28/06/2019 and this is the first inspection.
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.