Swallowfields

Updated 19 July 2022

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 and extra care housing service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, flats or specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the 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 24 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 24 May 2022 and ended on 30 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 24 May 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 two people and eight relatives who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff as well as the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service, including policies, procedures, safeguarding, accidents and incident were reviewed.

Updated 19 July 2022

About the service

Swallowfields is a Domiciliary Care and Extra Care Housing Service providing personal care to older people, people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, people with mental health concerns, physical disability, sensory impairment or younger adults. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 20 people.

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

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm. People's support needs were risk assessed and care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risk. The provider carried out recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable for the role. Staff had the necessary skills to carry out their role. Staff had regular training opportunities and training specific to people's individual needs was provided. People received their medicines as prescribed. Infection control policies and procedures were in place to keep people safe.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way and in their best interests: the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's individual communication needs were considered to support them to be involved in their care.

Systems and processes in place promoted a positive culture in the service. The management and care team ensured they supported people in a person-centred way to reflect people's equality and diverse needs.

The quality of care provided was continually assessed, reviewed and improved. People using the service, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained. The service worked well with health and other professionals to ensure people's needs were met.

Staff told us the service was a good place to work as they were supported and encouraged to raise any concerns as people’s needs changed. People told us the culture of the service was to listen and respond to them. Relatives told us they were involved in managing people’s care and support needs and suggestions they made regarding their family member’s preferences were acted on.

The registered manager checked key areas of the care provided and used their findings to drive through improvements in people’s safety and care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This is the first rating of this service. The service was registered with us on 17 February 2020.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not previously received a rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.