Updated 21 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team: This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type: People in Action Domiciliary Care – Worcester provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. The service also provides a domiciliary care service for people who required less intensive support.
Not everyone using People in Action Domiciliary Care - Worcester receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
At the time of this inspection five people were supported with personal care tasks by the service.
The service had a registered manager. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. This person was not present on the day of inspection. Day to day branch matters were managed by a service manager who assisted us on the day of inspection along with a representative of the provider.
Notice of inspection: We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that the service manager would be available to support the inspection and for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.
What we did: We reviewed information we had received about the service to plan the inspection. This included details of incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.
We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
During the inspection: We met three people who used the service spoke with two of their relatives. We spoke with the provider’s representative, the service manager who had oversight of the branch, the assistant manager of the service and three support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records, various records related to recruitment, staff training and supervision and the management of the service.