Home Independence Team

Updated 14 April 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 was the first time the service had been inspected since it had registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspection site visit activity started on 13 March 2018 and ended on 20 March 2018. It included telephone calls to people who used the service. An expert by experience made telephone calls on 13, 14, 15 and 16 March 2018. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. We visited the office location on 14 and 20 March 2018 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our intention to visit the office to ensure that they were available.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed notifications and any other information we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with 13 people who were receiving care and support and one relative. Whilst at the office we spoke with the registered manager, service manager, and four members of the referral and planning team. We also spoke with three reablement workers who provided hands on care and support to people. We reviewed five staff recruitment files and 11 care plans and associated medicine records. We cross referenced practice against the provider’s own policies and procedures. Prior to visiting the office we sent a questionnaire to eighteen staff.

We also contacted social care and healthcare professionals with knowledge of the service. This included people who commission care on behalf of the local authority and health or social care.

Updated 14 April 2018

This inspection took place on 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20 March 2018. It was an announced visit to the service.

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 people over the age of eighteen. Buckinghamshire Reablement Service provides time limited support to people. The duration of the support provided can vary from one to two days or up to a maximum of six weeks. At the time of inspection an average of 130 people were being supported.

This is the first inspection since the service was registered with The Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with 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.

We received positive feedback from people who used the service. Comments included “The people that come are very good and very helpful,” “The carers were lovely and always helped me in any way they could” and “They’re all very happy, very friendly people.”

People were supported by staff who had been recruited in a safe way to ensure they had the right skills and values. Staff were supported and they had access to continued learning to help them develop their skills.

People were encouraged to be independent. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care. People told us “I’m 90 and try to be as independent as possible. They come to help me with anything that I struggle with, getting dressed and things like that. They’re very good” and “I’m very happy with the service they provide, they’ve helped me tremendously.”

People were supported by staff who knew how to promote dignity and respect. One person told us “The carers are very good and they’re always very respectful towards me.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Staff had a good understanding of the core principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Systems were in place to ensure feedback was sought from people to help improve the service. The provider and registered manager had a clear vision to continuously learn and develop the service.