Updated 22 February 2023
Inspection team
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
The 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.
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 not a registered manager in post. The service had appointed a manager who was in the process of applying to be the registered manager.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 2 days’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that a member of staff would be available to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we held about the service, including recent correspondence and feedback we had received from people who used the service.
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
Inspection activity started on 15 December and ended on 23 December 2022. We reviewed records of care and support for one person and records of recruitment, supervision and training for three care workers. We spoke with the manager, two care workers and one family member of the person who used the service. We also reviewed information relating to the management of the service, such as policies and engagement with staff.
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.