Updated 15 June 2022
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
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 homes in the community.
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 announced.
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 7 April and ended on 28 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 7 April 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with nine people who used the service and/or their family members about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with three members of staff including the Operations Director, a field care supervisor and a manager from another branch. The registered manager was on leave at the time of this inspection.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five peoples’ care records and risk assessments. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed a variety of records including accident and incidents, safeguarding records, complaints, quality assurance records and other documentation relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance records, audits and analysis and policies and procedures. We also received written feedback from two external care professionals, one staff member and one family member.