Quality Care Homegivers Limited

Updated 30 August 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 21 and 26 June 2017 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. We also wished to visit people in their own home to speak with them about the support provided and the service needed time to seek their permission.

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before we carried out our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications that had been sent to us in the last year. This is information about important events which the managing director is required to send us by law. We used this information to plan what areas we were going to focus on during our inspection. We also took account of how the service had addressed issues identified at our last inspection.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We visited five people who used the service and also spoke with two relatives. We spoke with the owner, registered manager, co-ordinator and three members of care staff.

We reviewed four support plans, medication administration records, three staff recruitment files, staff training matrix and records relating to the quality and safety monitoring of the service.

Updated 30 August 2017

This inspection took place on 21 and 26 June 2017 and was announced.

Quality Care Homegivers is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own home. On the day of our inspection there were 26 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection of May 2016, we rated the service as requires improvement because of concerns we identified in safety and well-led. We received an action plan stating the service would resolve those issues in a month. At this inspection we found the senior staff had systematically worked through an action plan to address those issues and improve the service.

We received positive feedback from people who used the service. People told us they were supported by the same small groups of staff. The staff came on time to support people and occasionally when there were problems, the senior staff informed the person and made arrangements to ensure the support was provided.

Action had been taken by the management of the service to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed and this information was clearly documented. Risk assessments were in place with the guidance for staff to follow to reduce the risk of harm to people. Staff had received training in the safeguarding of vulnerable people.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. People received support from a staff team that treated them with kindness, respect and dignity.

Staff were supported with a planned induction and on going training to develop their knowledge and skills. Supervision, spot checks and appraisals were carried out by managers to support staff.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service supported people as stated in their support plan and this included for some people ensuring they had enough and choices of what to eat and drink. Arrangements were in place and information recorded when the staff had supported people to meet professionals such as GP’s regarding their health care needs.

The service staff supported people to be involved with their own support planning and was flexible to changing the times of support so that people were assisted with personal appointments. Each support plan had been written with the person to identify how their support would be provided to address their individual support needs. Before support was provided an assessment of the persons needs was completed to ensure the staff could meet the person’s needs.

There was a clear complaints system in place and this was explained to people, once they used the service and reminded to them at times of review.

The philosophy of the service was open, transparent and focused on the needs of people who used the service. Staff were supported by a management team who they described as understanding and helpful. The senior staff had systems in place to monitor and audit the service and to take subsequent actions as required.