South Coast Homecare

Updated 5 June 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

The inspection was undertaken 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

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 29 April 2021 and ended on 7 May 2021. We visited the office location on 29 April 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information about the service, including notifications sent to us by the provider. 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

We spoke with three people, including one relative, about their experience of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, office manager, a senior carer and two care staff. We reviewed a range of records including two care records, and two staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 5 June 2021

About the service

South Coast Homecare is a service providing personal care to 18 people with a range of health and support needs at the time of the inspection; some people were living with dementia. 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 were positive about the service and the care they received from staff. One person said, “If staff are off sick, then many carers are very willing to cover, and staff seem content. They manage well and there appears to be a lot of goodwill”.

People were protected from the risk of harm. People’s risks had been identified and assessed to ensure people received safe care and treatment. Infection prevention and control systems were effective and staff wore personal protective equipment when undertaking personal care. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff had completed a range of training and received regular supervision with their line managers. Spot checks were undertaken to monitor and ensure staff delivered a high standard of care to people. New staff were recruited safely. People told us that staff were rarely late for calls, and this only usually happened if there had been an emergency. Some people received support from staff with their meals. Staff contacted healthcare professionals if people became unwell or additional support was needed. 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 commented on the caring and compassionate nature of the staff who supported them. One person became worried that their garden plants might die because of the lack of rain, so care staff went to water them, then passed on the message to other carers, to check on the plants when they visited.

Care plans provided detailed information about people and guidance for staff which was followed. Complaints were managed in line with the provider’s policy.

People spoke positively about the management team, of the high standard of care they received, and the calibre of staff. People’s diverse needs were recognised and catered for. A robust system of audits had been implemented to measure and monitor the service, and to drive improvements.

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

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered with us on 26 July 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The service had not been inspected since it registered with us.

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.