Vine Social Care

Updated 15 July 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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one Inspector 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.

Service and service type

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

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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed the provider to send us some information prior to the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people and seven relatives via telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, office staff and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, action plans, risk assessments, policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 15 July 2021

About the service

Vine Social Care is a home care agency supporting people with personal care 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 supporting 50 people with personal care.

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

People and relatives told us they were happy with the quality of care, telling us they received consistent care, at agreed times with staff they were familiar with.

People told us the registered manager was approachable and professional. Staff told us that they were motivated in their role and enjoyed working for the company.

The provider had systems in place to investigate and reflect upon incidents. Outcomes from investigations were shared with staff to help ensure the learning was applied in their everyday working practice.

Risks to people in relation to their health and medical conditions were assessed and measures were put in place to reduce the risk of harm to people.

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of care. They had utilised computer-based systems to develop a pro-active approach by monitoring care in ‘real time’.

There were safe systems in place to ensure the continuity of care outside of office hours and in the event of an emergency.

The registered manager had a good understanding of the day to day culture of the service and of people’s needs.

There were enough staff in place to meet people’s needs. The provider had made improvements to their recruitment processes to ensure staff had appropriate checks into their background and character.

People’s care plans detailed the support they required around their medicines and personal care. Care plans were easy to follow, accessible for staff and identified people’s specific preferences around their care.

There were policies and procedures in place to protect people from the risk of suffering abuse or coming to avoidable harm.

Staff had received training in infection control, including additional measures required in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The provider engaged with people so they could have a meaningful input into their care plans.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 September 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had made improvements in the areas identified as requires improvement at our last inspection. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe 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 Vine Social Care 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.