Archived: Zinnia Care Limited

Updated 25 December 2018

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.

The inspection took place between 26 November and 6 December 2018. We gave 48 hours' notice of the inspection because the service is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure staff would be available for us to talk to and that records would be accessible. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications relating to the service. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. A Provider Information Return (PIR) was submitted to us in September 2018. This is information that the provider is required to send to us, which gives us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted seven professionals for their feedback which we have included in the report.

We visited the office on 26 November. We spoke with four care staff, a care coordinator, the operational manager and the registered manager/ provider. We looked at the care records for three people who used the service to see if they were reflective of their current needs. We reviewed three staff recruitment files and training records. We also looked at further records relating to the management of the service, including quality audits and service user feedback.

On 03 and 06 December 2018 we spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives to obtain their views on the care and support provided by the agency.

Updated 25 December 2018

This inspection took place between 26 November and 6 December 2018 and was unannounced.

Zinnia Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. It provides a service to adults with learning and physical disabilities and older people, including people living with dementia who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service Not everyone using Zinnia Care Limited receives 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.

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The service had a registered manager who was also the provider. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. We have rated safe as requires improvement. However, the overall rating remains Good.

This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People felt safe. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people and knew how to identify and report any concerns. However, some improvements were needed. Recruitment procedures were not consistently robust, candidates were not always asked to provide a full employment history or explain gaps in their employment history. Whilst staff knew how to keep people safe further developments were needed to assess activities or areas that could pose a risk to people as there was insufficient information to inform staff how to manage situations. The provider actioned both these areas immediately following the inspection.

Staff had received training, support and development to enable them to carry out their role effectively. People`s needs were assessed to ensure they received the support they required. People were involved in deciding how their care was provided. Staff supported people with their medicines and any dietary requirements.

People and their relatives said their privacy, dignity, and independence was respected. People confirmed staff always asked for their consent when providing care.

People knew how to raise any concerns or complaints. Any complaints were responded to and where necessary lessons learnt.

The registered manager had a good overview of the service and ensured people’s needs were met. There were systems in place to monitor and develop the service.