Background to this inspection
Updated
27 September 2022
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people and staff.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
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 short notice of the inspection in order for the registered manager to provide us with the documentation we needed to look at.
Inspection activity started on 6 September 2022 and ended on 9 September 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six members of staff, eight people using the service and three people’s family members.
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as phone and video calls to enable us to engage with people and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
Updated
27 September 2022
About the service
Choices Homecare Wakefield and North Kirklees is a service providing support for people in their own homes. The service was supporting around 100 people at the time of the inspection.
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 spoke positively about their experience of receiving care from this provider. One person’s relative said: “They are brilliant. We have no complaints at all. The manager is also just brilliant. They are all just great.” Another person said: “They all treat me with respect when they are here. I would say they are all well trained although they don’t need to use any special equipment for me. When I call the office they always answer quickly and they are polite to me on the phone. I have a number to call if I need to query anything but so far I am ok.” A third person told us: “The carers all show me compassion and are kind to me. I am happy with them. They are all polite.”
The registered manager carried out regular audits of the service, and these identified where there were any shortfalls in order to ensure there was continuous improvement. Where incidents had occurred, the provider had made the legally required notifications to CQC, and where appropriate made changes to how care services were delivered.
Staff were positive about the support they received from managers. They described the registered manager as good, and gave examples of times when they had received a good level of support. They said they were confident to raise any concerns and felt issues were always addressed when they were raised.
Medicines were managed safely, with regular audits of people’s medication taking place.
The provider took steps to involve people in their care. Some people could not remember being involved in putting their care plans together or in reviews of their care, but others told these took place regularly, and records confirmed this.
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. Care took place in accordance with people’s consent, people confirmed staff always asked for their consent before undertaking care tasks. One person said: “They all treat me in a nice way and always ask my consent before they do things for me.”
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 in August 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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.