The inspection took place on 19 and 24 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that staff would be available to meet with us.At the last inspection on 31 May and 2 June 2017, we found that the provider was in breach of Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (Good governance). We rated the service as ‘Good’ in effective and caring and ‘Requires improvement’ in safe, responsive and well led with an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’.
We asked the provider to complete an action plan to show the improvements they would make to the key questions of safe, responsive and well led to at least Good.
We found some improvements had been made to the service when we returned on 19 July 2018. However, the service was in breach of Regulation 18 (Staffing) and continued to be in breach of Regulation 17 (Good governance). We rated safe, effective, caring and well led as ‘Requires improvement’ as the training of staff, quality monitoring and management oversight needed action to be taken. Responsive was rated as 'Good' as care plans were person centred and up to date. We have judged their overall rating to be ‘Requires improvement.’
Divine Care Providers is a domiciliary care service. It is registered to provide the regulated activity of personal care to people in their own homes including older people, people with dementia, people with a physical and sensory impairment, mental health and younger adults. At the time of the inspection, there were 44 people using the service and 23 care staff supporting them.
There was 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.
The system for the induction, training and supervision of staff was not sufficiently effective or robust to ensure staff had the necessary information, skills and knowledge to carry out their role effectively.
There were insufficient staff with the right skills and knowledge to care for people safely. The registered manager and other managers had to provide care to ensure the rota was covered. The management and monitoring of staffing and recruitment practices needed improvement.
A robust system to manage, monitor, measure and review the quality and delivery of the service was still not in place. The provider had not invested time and resources into making the service well led. The lack of investment and improvement did not provide evidence that the service was well led and managed.
The assessment, recording and reviews of people’s needs and associated risks had been improved in order to keep them safe.
Staff had knowledge of the safeguarding procedures and were clear about the actions they would take if they saw, heard or suspected any abuse or harm to people they supported.
People received their medicines as prescribed and the records had been improved to make the administration more effective. Infection control procedures were in place and protective equipment was available to staff.
Staff supported people with their meals and drinks so that they maintained their health and wellbeing. Staff were proactive in making sure people’s healthcare needs were met. The service worked well in partnership with other professionals and people received the health care support they needed.
The service worked in line with other legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to ensure that people had as much choice and control over their lives as possible. People or their representatives had consented to their care.
Staff were kind, generous and caring. People said they were listened to, involved in their care arrangements and had built up good relationships with staff.
People received care which was responsive to their needs. Care plans were up to date, clear and written in a respectful and person-centred way. People were enabled to maintain their independence and follow their interests.
People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Complaints were recorded and dealt with appropriately. A process was in place to seek people's views about the service through regular reviews of their care.
The management team were visible, accessible to staff and people who used the service. Staff told us they were supported and appreciated.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.