Shipston Care Limited

Updated 9 June 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of three inspectors and an expert by experience. Two inspectors visited the provider's offices and one inspector made telephone calls to staff. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care provider. The expert by experience contacted people and relatives by telephone to gather feedback on their experiences.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 72 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 18 May 2021 and ended on 19 May 2021. We visited the office location on 18 May 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, the general manager, the operations manager and three members of care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and examples of medication records, two staff recruitment files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. This included feedback about their electronic care planning tool and staff’s access to that information.

Updated 9 June 2021

About the service

Shipston Care Limited is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. 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 the inspection the service was providing personal care to 22 people. Care calls ranged from 30 minutes to one hour 30 minutes. Two people were receiving support on a 24-hour basis.

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

Staff were recruited safely, and there were enough staff to provide the care and support people needed at the times they preferred. People said they trusted the service because of their reliability and consistency.

Staff received training that provided them with the skills and knowledge to support people's needs. New staff had received an induction to the service before starting work.

The provider had developed links with health and social care professionals to ensure that healthcare support was provided to people when required. Staff understood their responsibility to report any concerns about people to their managers, including any accidents or incidents.

People were involved in how their care was delivered and ongoing reviews ensured it continued to meet their needs. Care plans were informative, but staff and managers knowledge of people was not always recorded in people’s plans of care. The management team had identified this and were updating care plans at the time of our visit.

People and their relatives made decisions about their care and were supported by staff who understood and followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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 were trained in infection control and there were sufficient supplies within the office of PPE and hand sanitiser. Staff were reminded of the importance of following good infection control practices.

The management team worked well together and were committed to providing a high-quality service to people. Their commitment and passion to provide people with good care outcomes was central to the delivery of its service. Feedback from people and staff was used as an opportunity for improving the service people received.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 10 April 2019) and there was a breach of a regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service between 4 March 2019 and 5 March 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Shispton Care Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.