Background to this inspection
Updated
22 November 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 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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 21 October 2019 and ended on 22 October 2019. We visited the office location on 22 October 2019.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the service registered. 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 five people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the nominated individual who was also a provider, the operations manager, office staff and care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.
After the inspection
The registered manager was away from the service at the time of the inspection. However, we spoke to them on the telephone when they returned. We sought feedback from health and social care professionals about their experience of the service.
Updated
22 November 2019
About the service
Vitality Home Health Gravesham & Dartford is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 30 people at the time of the inspection. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks such as personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The feedback we received from people, relatives and a health and social care professional was positive about the standards of care and the kindness of staff. One person said, “They are nice, and they look after me well.”
People told us they felt safe using the service and there were no concerns about safety. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse and risks to people from health care conditions were assessed and well managed.
Medicine administration was undertaken safely. Medicine records were complete and staff competency to undertake the administration of medicines had been assessed.
Incidents and accidents had been recorded, including those which occurred outside of times when staff were providing support. Action had been taken to reduce the risk of incidents, such as falls, from re-occurring.
Before people started with the service an assessment was completed to plan their care. This included looking at people’s health needs and needs relating to equality, and mental wellbeing. People were involved in planning their own care and felt listened to by staff and the provider.
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. Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and people’s right to make choices for themselves.
There were enough staff to support people. People said staff were reliable and turned up on time. Staff had the skills and knowledge they needed and were well supported in their role.
There was a system in place to receive and respond to complaints if these arose and complaints had been responded to in a timely manner.
People were supported to access healthcare services were appropriate for both urgent and routine healthcare. This included access to doctors, physiotherapists and dental care.
There was a positive approach to partnership working and good links to the local community. The service ran a number of initiatives including exercise classes and informative talks for people, relatives and the wider public. This afforded people the opportunity to improve their mental health and level of physical activity.
There was a positive culture at the service and staff were happy and motivated. The service was well managed and had a clear vision to provide holistic care.
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 16 November 2018 and this was the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.
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.