Halo Domiciliary Care

Updated 20 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post, however they had notified us that they were absent from the service. A new manager was in post and they planned to apply to register as manager for the service.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 03 May 2023 and ended on 09 May 2023. We visited the location’s office on 03 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the relatives of 2 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with 7 members of staff including 4 care staff, 1 care co-ordinator, the manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and 2 people’s medicines records. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance surveys and audits were reviewed.

Updated 20 June 2023

About the service

Halo Domiciliary Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 4 people were receiving support with personal care. 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.

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

Systems and processes were in place to monitor the quality of the care provided; however, these had not always resulted in areas for improvement being identified and acted upon in a timely manner.

The manager was aware improvements were required in the service, they had met with the provider and had produced an action plan covering the areas where improvement was needed. This had been discussed with the provider and it could be seen that progress was being made.

People had suitable care plans for most of their needs. However, care plans for people who used medical devices to support their continence required more detail.

People’s risks had been assessed, however the level of detail provided in relation to people’s pressure ulcer and nutrition risks varied. The manager reviewed these assessments and ensured consistency across the service while the inspection was ongoing.

The provider needed to ensure that safe handling of medicines was consistently in place. We identified one area of concern in relation to medicines administration and the manager took immediate action to remedy this.

Although staff had received a variety of mandatory training, they required training in meeting people’s specific health care needs. The manager was aware staff required this training and made arrangements for this training to be provided while the inspection was ongoing.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm. Staff had good knowledge of infection prevention and control and had access to the required personal protective equipment.

People received their care calls on time and told us they were supported by consistent staff who knew them well. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink to maintain their health and well-being.

People’s health needs were recorded in their care plans, and they were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Complaints procedures were in place and people knew how to complain. People told us where they had complained their complaint had been fully addressed and action taken to prevent a reoccurrence.

People provided positive feedback about the manager and the staff who provided their care. People were encouraged to make decisions about how their care was provided and their privacy and dignity were protected and promoted.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 March 2022, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation about care planning for people who use medical devices to manage their continence.

Follow up

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