Agincare Worcester

Updated 26 April 2022

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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community.

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

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 March 2022 and ended on 18 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 14 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We sought feedback from the local authority. We also requested feedback from Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, care co-ordinator, field care supervisor and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four peoples’ care records and risk assessments. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including accident and incidents, safeguarding records, complaints, quality assurance records and other documentation relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance records, audits and analysis and policies and procedures.

Updated 26 April 2022

About the service

Agincare Worcester is a domiciliary care agency. People are supported in their own homes so that they can live as independently as possible. The domiciliary care agency is registered to provide a service to younger adults, older people, people living with mental health, dementia, people living with sensory impairments, physical disabilities and people living with a learning disability or autism.

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 told us they felt safe and were cared for and supported by a staff team that were caring and compassionate, and led by a highly motivated management team.

Staff understood how to recognise the signs of abuse and what action to take to protect people who used the service. The provider followed safe recruitment processes which included undertaking background checks on potential new staff before they started working for the service.

People were supported to manage and take their medicines safely where required. There were sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment, (PPE) and people confirmed staff wore this. Staff had received appropriate training including in infection control. The management team reviewed any accidents or incidents to identify any actions needed to keep people safe and reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

Risks to people had been assessed and were kept under review. People were involved in their care planning and encouraged to decide what care they wanted.

Staff completed an induction and ongoing training which enabled them to carry out their role effectively. Where people required support with their meals and drinks staff assisted them and understood people’s individual nutritional needs and preferences.

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 told us they valued the bonds they had developed with staff and were treated with dignity and their rights to independence and privacy were respected. People gave us examples showing how staff encouraged them to continue to administer their own medicines and be involved in their personal care, so their independence would be maintained.

There was a strong person-centred culture that was embedded within the service. Staff knew people well and had established positive relationships with them. Staff encouraged people to live as full a life as possible and assisted them to achieve the best possible outcomes. People received person-centred care which was tailored to meet their individual needs. People’s wishes at the end of their lives had been identified and staff had received training to ensure people’s choices were promoted.

People and their relatives were aware of the process to raise concerns or complaints and were confident they would be listened to.

People and staff told us the service was well led and managed effectively. People and staff also said the registered manager and senior team were interested in their wellbeing and were approachable. Staff told us they felt supported to provide good care as the team worked well together, and staff morale was good.

People and their relatives were encouraged to provide feedback about the service they received. The registered manager and provider checked the quality and safety of the care provided. They used the findings from their checks and feedback from people, relatives and staff to drive through improvements and to develop the service further.

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 11 May 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

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