Updated 3 May 2019
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was completed 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 domiciliary care service. Their role involved talking with people using the service and their families.
Service and service type:
This domiciliary care agency supported 18 people at the time of this inspection. The service took referrals from people who were paying privately for the service; they did not provide a service commissioned by a local authority or the National Health Service. 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.
What we did:
Before the inspection:
• We checked for any notifications made to us by the provider and the information we held on our database about the service and provider. Statutory notifications are pieces of information about important events which took place at the service, such as safeguarding incidents, which the provider is required to send to us by law.
• We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR provides key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements the provider plans to make.
During the inspection visit on 4 February 2019:
• We looked at five staff recruitment records.
• We looked at six care records including risk assessments and medicines administration records.
• We spoke with five care staff, the registered manager and a director of the service.
• We looked at policies and procedures the service worked to.
• We discussed management processes to audit the quality of the service.
After the inspection visit:
• We spoke with two people who used the service and nine relatives on the phone.
• We were sent additional policies and procedures, training, appraisal information, and other management documentation.