Snowfields Care Head Office

Updated 19 September 2019

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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 28 June 2019 and ended on 2 July 2019. We visited the office location on both dates.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We reviewed the provider’s website and other information we held about the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited three people who used the service to speak with them about their experience. We spoke with seven members of staff including the directors, registered manager, deputy manager, senior care worker, a care worker and the office administrator.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

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

Updated 19 September 2019

About the service

Snowfields Care is a domiciliary care service which provides support to people living in their own home, including older people and younger people living with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or mental health needs.

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 there were five people receiving personal care.

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

Staff were caring and kind and demonstrated genuinely compassionate relationships with people. People told us the service was good and staff were kind. One person fed back, “You make it a very personal care package and genuinely feel a sense of care and companionship from the staff." Staff knew people well and acted as advocates to promote their independence and ensure their voice was heard.

Staff supported people to explore their interests and to maintain and build relationships to avoid social isolation. Staff took a person-centred approach to ensure people’s individual needs were met. The service had an open and inclusive culture and celebrated people’s individuality and diversity.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received safe care from a service which assessed and managed their individual risks. Staff had training in safeguarding and understood signs of abuse and how to report it. People’s medicines were managed safely.

The service was well-led and had good measures in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. The registered manager understood their responsibilities and regulatory requirements.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 28 June 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first planned inspection based on when the service registered with CQC.

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.