Archived: Step-A-Side Care Limited (Domiciliary Care)

Updated 10 May 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 28 March 2019 and was announced. We gave the service prior notice of the inspection visit because it is a small service and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started and ended on 28 March 2019. We visited the office location on 28 March 2019 to see the manager, speak with staff; and to review care records, staff records and policies and procedures. Following this visit we received the views of relatives of people using the service and staff through e mail and telephone calls. We also contacted commissioners who confirmed they had no concerns about the service.

We reviewed records for people using the service and checked records relating to staff recruitment, support and training and the management of the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we have about the service including notifications. A notification is a report about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

Updated 10 May 2019

Step-A-Side Care Limited (Domiciliary Care) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community. It provides a service to younger disabled adults. At the time of our inspection visit the service was supporting two younger adults.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. In this report we refer to Step-A-Side Care Limited (Domiciliary Care) as Step-A-Side.

Not everyone using Step-A-Side receives 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.

Why the service continues to be rated ‘Good’.

Improvements had been made to the recording of assessments of people’s capacity to consent to the care and support provided to them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

People were protected from harm and abuse through the knowledge of staff and management. Robust staff recruitment procedures were followed. Staff were supported through training and meetings to maintain their skills and knowledge to support people.

People received support from caring staff who respected their privacy, dignity and the importance of maintaining their independence.

There were arrangements in place for people and their representatives to raise concerns about the service. Effective quality monitoring systems were in operation. The registered manager was approachable to people using the service and staff.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.