Novus Care Limited - Surrey

Updated 24 May 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert at this inspection had experience of caring for older people.

Service and service type:

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

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:

The inspection was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We wanted to be sure that someone would be in to speak with us.

What we did:

• Before the inspection we used information, the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they intend to make. This information helps us support our inspections.

• We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as incidents and abuse.

During the inspection:

• We reviewed a range of records. This included four staff recruitment files, training records, records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures and quality assurance processes developed and implemented by the provider.

• We reviewed four people’s care records.

• We spoke with five members of staff, including the registered manager, two care co-ordinators, and care staff.

• During our inspection we spoke with 10 people over the telephone.

• We met with the registered manager in the office, and observed them working in the office, dealing with issues and speaking with people over the telephone.

Updated 24 May 2019

About the service:

Novus Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community and provides a service to adults. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting 41 people with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability, sensory impairment or people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes. Not everyone using Novus Care Limited receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service:

• Staff had received essential training and feedback from people indicated that they knew the best way to care for people in line with their needs and preferences. However, we saw that some staff had not received training in topics that the provider considered essential and refresher training for staff had not routinely gone ahead. We have identified this as an area of practice that requires improvement.

• People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them. One person told us, “Their attitude is polite they always come with a smile and they give me confidence”.

• People’s independence was promoted and told us their needs were met. They told us that they had a regular team of care staff who arrived on time and knew them well. One person told us, “It depends on how you feel within yourself, but I feel like it’s a friend coming to my house to help me out”.

• People felt they were offered choice in the way their care was delivered and that they had no concerns around their dignity and privacy in their own homes being respected. One person told us, “They are all pleasant, nice and professional”.

• The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person-centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes.

• People told us they thought the service was well managed and they received high quality care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing from dedicated and enthusiastic staff. One person told us, “They make a horrible situation so much easier, I’d be lost without them”.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 10 October 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.

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