Pathways of Hope

Updated 14 June 2023

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 undertaken by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 4 May 2023 and ended on 9 May 2023. We visited the location’s office on 4 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the actions taken by the provider in the form of monthly reports they had sent to us. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people and 3 relatives about their experience of the service. We spoke with the registered manager and care co-ordinator.

We reviewed a range of records including 4 care plans. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 14 June 2023

About the service

Pathways of Hope provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people using the service. 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

Improvements had been made since the last inspection. When staff were recruited, checks were completed to ensure they were safe and suitable to support people in their own homes. The registered manager had sought advice and guidance from other providers and healthcare organisations to improve the service. Information within people’s care plans had been reviewed, and risks assessed. Work was in progress to ensure information about people was current and person-centred.

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 were trained to understand the importance of gaining people’s consent when delivering personal care. Staff completed a range of training to support people as needed. Staff had contact with a range of health and social care professionals when people required their services.

Feedback from people and their relatives about their experience of the service had been obtained. Comments were positive.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 16 January 2023).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. At our last inspection we recommended the registered manager sought advice and guidance on how consent from people was sought and documented within care records. At this inspection, the registered manager had acted on our recommendation, improvements had been made and consent was gained lawfully.

This service has been in Special Measures since 16 January 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check whether the Warning Notices we previously served in relation to Regulation 19 and Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating has changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Pathways of Hope on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.