Background to this inspection
Updated
24 June 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 two 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
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 30 March 2022 and ended on 25 April 2022. We visited the service on 1 April 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager (who was also the nominated individual), managing director, and care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including governance systems, policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
24 June 2022
About the service
Basingstoke Centre is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people who live in their own home. At the time of inspection, they were providing care to 19 people, which included older people, people living with dementia and people with medical conditions affecting their mobility.
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
Although the provider was carrying out identity and disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks, they were not meeting the requirements for safe recruitment. Staff files did not have complete work history and the provider was unable to show us any evidence of conduct in previous employment in health and social care settings.
Staff had not completed required training. There was not a robust effective system in place to ensure that the provider employed people who were suitably qualified, competent and experienced. This placed people at risk of receiving inappropriate or unsafe care.
We found no evidence that people had been harmed, however, there were failures to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service, as well as failure to maintain accurate records.
The registered manager was not carrying out audits of the service and there was no process for learning from accidents/incidents, safeguarding and complaints.
We have made a recommendation about care plans as they were not complete and did not contain the risk assessments staff needed to keep people safe.
People told us they felt they received a good service and that staff gave them respect, privacy and dignity during the care provided.
People and relatives told us that the provider was responsive when they required changes to their care.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 24 June 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This was a planned inspection based on the service being newly registered.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.