Archived: MiHomecare - Birmingham

Updated 4 September 2015

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 13 July 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team comprised of two inspectors. Before the inspection we looked at the information we already had about this provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any safeguarding matters. These help us to plan our inspection. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. Two local authority commissioners provided us with information about the service. We spoke with eight people using the service and with the relatives of five people to ask them about the care they received. We used this information to plan what areas we were going to focus on during our inspection.

During our visit to the service we spoke with the registered manager, regional manager, two care co-ordinators and four care staff. We sampled the records relating to five of the people using the service and four records relating to staff recruitment and training. We also reviewed records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service.

Updated 4 September 2015

This inspection took place on 13 July 2015. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice to make sure that there would be someone in the office at the time of our visit. MiHomecare Birmingham provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the Birmingham and Solihull areas of the West Midlands. They are registered to provide both nursing and personal care support. At the time of our visit we were told they had approximately 105 people using the service and they were not providing any nursing care.

At our previous inspection on 18 September 2014 the service was not meeting two of the regulations that we assessed. This was in relation to records and assessing and monitoring quality. The provider sent us an action plan telling us that they would make the necessary improvements by 10 November 2014. At this inspection we found that the necessary improvements had been made.

The service has 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 using this service told us that they felt safe. There were systems for making sure that staff reported any allegation or suspicion of poor practice and staff were aware of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse.

There was a sufficient number of suitably qualified and experienced staff working at the service. New care staff were provided with an induction to the service and were supported through this. We were told by people who used the service and staff, that people were supported at each call by the number of staff identified as necessary in their care plans. People told us that they were usually supported by the same care staff.

Care staff had the skills and knowledge to ensure people were supported in line with their care needs but the training in moving and handling for care staff needed review to ensure it provided staff with the knowledge and skills they needed to provide safe care. Care staff had regular supervisions in order to review how to meet people’s care needs and provide support to staff.

Care planning arrangements did not always ensure the service was able to respond to people’s changing needs appropriately and continually monitor those needs.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) which applies to services providing care in the community. Not all staff were aware of the principles of the MCA and this put people at risk of not having their human rights met.

People who used the service told us that they were confident that care was provided in accordance with their needs People had built up close relationships with the care staff who provided their personal care. They described the staff as being kind and caring and care staff spoke affectionately about the people they supported. Staff promoted and upheld people’s privacy and dignity.

The provider sought feedback from people using the service and their relatives in respect of the quality of care provided and had arrangements in place to deal with any concerns or complaints. Action was taken to address people’s concerns and to reduce the risk of any potential recurrence. People told us that they would not hesitate to contact the agency office if they had a concern.

People were confident in how the service was led and the manager’s abilities. The provider had established processes for monitoring and improving the quality of the care people received although these were not always effective in identifying how the service could be improved.