Head Office

Updated 18 February 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 using the service and staff.

Inspection team

This 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.

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 carried out remotely due to COVID19. The service was contacted and asked to provide documentation by email.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it registered with us. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and a relative about their experience of the care provided . We spoke with staff including the two registered managers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 18 February 2022

About the service

Head Office is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to eight people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported to have choice and control over all aspects of their lives, according to their ability. The support people received enabled them to be more independent.

People told us that the staff who visited them were kind, caring and considerate. They made positive comments about senior staff in the organisation such as the registered manager.

Care planning made clear the support people needed to reduce risks and remain safe. This meant staff had access to information to help them minimise risks.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff received appropriate training and supervision to carry out their role.

The service sought people’s feedback and acted upon it. People were given easy read questionnaires which staff supported them to complete. People told us they were also asked for their views during discussions about care planning. People’s views were documented and acted upon.

There was an appropriate quality assurance system in place to monitor the quality of the service and identify any area’s for improvement.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• The service set out in care plans what support people needed to increase their independent living skills. Since our last inspection the service was providing the regulated activity of ‘personal care’ to less people, because they had been supported to live more independently.

Right care:

• Staff knew people as individuals and individualised care planning and risk assessment was in place.

Right culture:

• The provider was committed to a culture of increasing independence and promoting the rights of people using the service. They had taken steps to modify the way the service operated over time to ensure people had more independence and lived more autonomously.

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

Rating at last inspection:

This was the service’s first inspection since it registered with CQC on 28 October 2020.

Why we inspected

This was the service’s first inspection.

Follow up

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