Background to this inspection
Updated
9 February 2016
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 30 December 2015 and was announced. ‘The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
The inspection team consisted of one inspector.
Before the inspection, we asked the provider 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. We used this information to assist in the planning of our inspection.
We reviewed information we held about the provider, in particular, any notifications about incidents, accidents, safeguarding matters or deaths. We contacted the local authority commissioning team to obtain information about the service. We spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives of people who used the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, the care co-ordinator and a member of care staff.
We reviewed a range of documents and records including three care records of the people using the service, two staff files, training records, accident and incident records, complaints and quality audits.
Updated
9 February 2016
This inspection took place on 30 December 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because we wanted to make sure staff would be available to answer any questions we had or provide information that we needed. We also wanted the registered manager to ask people who used the service if we could contact them.
The service is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. People who use the service may need support or care due to old age, dementia, learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support and personal care to three people in their own homes. This was the first inspection of this service.
There was 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 told us that they felt safe when staff entered their home and that the staff knew how to support them. Staff were able to describe in detail the needs of the people they provided care for and their roles and responsibilities in respect of keeping people safe. Staff were aware of the risks to people and these risks were reviewed on a regular basis.
People received their care on time and if staff were occasionally running late, people were always notified of this.
Appropriate recruitment processes were in place in order to reduce the risk of unsuitable people being employed by the service.
Staff were provided with the training and information required in order to support people to take their medicines safely.
Staff knew people’s healthcare needs and supported them to access their GP or other healthcare services if they were feeling unwell.
People told us that they were supported by staff who were kind and caring and willing to go out of their way to help them.
People told us that staff sought their consent before they provided care. The registered manager and staff all had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and what this meant for people.
People were involved in the development of their care plans to ensure that they received their care in the way they wanted. Arrangements were made for staff to be introduced to people prior to them providing care and support, in order for them to get to know each other.
People told us they had not had to raise any concerns or complaints but if they did, they knew who to speak to and were confident that they would be dealt with appropriately.
People, their families and staff all spoke positively about the registered manager and the staff who supported them. Staff were well supported in their role and felt able to approach management with any issues or concerns.
There were a number of quality audits in place to assess the quality of the service provided.