Background to this inspection
Updated
3 January 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.
This inspection took place on 24, 25 and 29 August 2017. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that staff would be available on the day of the inspection and that records would be accessible.
The inspection team was made up of 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. The expert by experience used for this inspection had experience of a family member using this type of service.
Before the inspection we reviewed information available to us about the service such as information from the local authority, information received about the service and notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
We spoke with 11 people and two relatives of people who used the service. We also spoke with three care workers, one scheduler, two senior office staff and the registered manager.
We looked at four people’s care records to see if they were reflective of their current needs. We also reviewed four staff recruitment files, the care call scheduling system and staff training records.
We also looked at further records relating to the management of the service, including complaints management and quality audits, in order to review how the quality of the service was monitored and managed to drive future improvement.
Updated
3 January 2018
Home Instead Central Hemel Hempstead and Chilterns is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service provides support with personal care, medication, meal preparation, domestic tasks and bespoke services agreed with individuals.
This comprehensive inspection took place on 24, 25 and 29 August 2017, and was announced.
At the last inspection in May 2015, the service was rated Good.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the 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.
People told us that they felt safe and were supported by consistent, reliable staff. Staff understood their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding people and had received relevant training. There were systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of possible harm.
Risk assessments that gave staff guidance on how individual risks to people could be minimised were completed and updated regularly.
The service had robust recruitment procedures in place. There were sufficient staff to meet the care and support needs of people and an effective system to schedule people’s care visits.
Staff were skilled and competent in their roles and were supported by way of spot checks and supervisions. These were consistently completed for all staff and used to improve and give feedback on performance.
People were supported, where required, with their meals and the preparation of food. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being and accessed the services of health professionals.
Staff were kind, compassionate and caring. They provided care in a respectful manner and maintained people’s dignity. People were involved in making decisions about their care and their consent was sought. Positive relationships existed between people and staff.
People’s needs had been assessed and they had been involved in planning their care and deciding in which way their care was provided. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they were supporting and provided personalised care.
People, their relatives and staff knew who to raise concerns to. The provider had a robust process for handling complaints and concerns.
There were effective quality assurance processes. Feedback on the service provided was encouraged through quality visits, spot checks and surveys.
There was an open culture. Staff told us there was positive leadership in place. Staff felt valued, motivated and were committed to providing quality care.