Background to this inspection
Updated
19 June 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type:
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides support with personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 30 people were using the reablement service and 49 people were receiving packages of personal care.
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 visit because we needed to make sure the registered manager would be available.
Inspection site visit activity started on 20 May 2019 and ended on 21 May 2019. We visited the office location on 20 May 2019 to see the registered manager; meet with staff, and review care records and policies and procedures. We carried out phone calls to people on 21 May 2019.
What we did:
When planning our inspection, we looked at information we held about the service. This included notifications about significant incidents which the provider is required to inform us about by law. The provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We spoke with eight people by telephone (four people who used the reablement service and four people who received a package of care). We spoke with the registered manager, the service manager and, five staff. We received feedback from two healthcare professionals.
We looked at eight people’s care records, three staff recruitment files and other records relating to the management of the service including quality assurance.
Updated
19 June 2019
About the service: Social Care Reablement Estuary House is a reablement service provided by Devon County Council. They are registered with us to provide personal care. The service supports people in their own homes for up to four weeks following an illness, injury or set back to learn or re-learn skills to undertake daily living activities such as washing, dressing and meal preparation. At the time of our inspection 30 people were using the reablement service and 49 people were receiving packages of personal care in their own homes.
In February 2019, Devon County Council managed a transfer of care packages from another provider to Social Care Reablement – Estuary House. This is planned to be a short-term arrangement until an alternative provider can be found.
People’s experience of using this service:
The service had been very responsive. When a large number of packages of care were transferred from another provider at short notice, this was very well managed. People told us they had been fully involved in the development of their care plan and felt empowered and valued. One person said, “I’m over the moon with them. They’ve put the right carers in for me as an individual, these carers are brilliant.” People were kept well informed during the transfer of care. One person said, “They kept me informed to the highest degree” and, “When I had a query I spoke to [Registered manager’s name] and he sorted it, it’s been perfect ever since.”
People felt safe and comfortable when staff visited them in their home. People were kept safe as potential risks had been assessed and managed. There were enough staff to complete the planned visits.
People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff. People said, “They’re all very helpful” and, “They’re all absolutely lovely.”
People’s needs were met by staff who had received regular training and support. People were treated with respect and staff understood how to protect people’s rights.
People were involved in making decisions about the goals they wanted to achieve. People felt staff had helped them to progress and become more independent. Reablement goal plans contained up-to-date information about each person’s needs.
People were asked for their views about the service. The most recent feedback results showed people were happy with the service they were receiving.
There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service.
The registered manager was committed to improving care where possible and had developed effective working relationships with other professionals and agencies.
The service met the characteristics for a rating of “Good” in all of the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “Good”.
More information is in the full report.
Rating at last inspection: Good (The report was published on 2 December 2016).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about this service until we return to visit as part of our re-inspection programme. If we have any concerns, we may inspect sooner.