Longevity Care - Main Office

Updated 11 July 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 not a registered manager in post. However, the provider had applied to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 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 21 June 2023 and ended on 23 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 21 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since its registration with CQC. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people and 2 relatives about their experiences of the care and support provided. 5 members of staff including the provider and care staff. We reviewed a range of care records. This included 4 people's care plans and associated records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment, supervision, and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

Updated 11 July 2023

About the service

Longevity Care – Main Office is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats who required support due to needs relating to their age or living with a physical disability. 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 our inspection there were 21 people using the service with 12 people receiving support with personal care.

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

People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff understood the different types of abuse and told us how they would recognise these, report them and keep people safe.

Risks to people had been assessed and identified. Information for staff to minimise these occurring was available and guidance sheets on different health conditions available so staff could understand the impact these may have on peoples support needs.

Medicines were managed safely, and the provider had systems in place to learn from any incidents or accidents which had occurred.

Staff were recruited safely, and feedback was positive with people telling us staff were on time and assisted them with the tasks they required. People and their relatives told us they had not experienced missed or late care visits and the care being provided was consistent.

Staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately when they undertook care visits, and the provider told us they had sufficient supplies for staff to use.

People and their relatives described the staff as caring, kind, and supportive. People were supported to maintain and increase their independence and were treated with dignity and respect.

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.

Staff completed a range of training modules and shadowed experienced staff when starting with the service and people and their relatives said they felt staff knew what they were doing and supported them well. Staff told us the provider was always available for support.

Feedback on the service was positive from people and relatives we spoke with who knew who the provider was and how to contact them if needed.

Care records showed staff worked with external agencies, such as healthcare professionals, to achieve positive outcomes for people.

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