Archived: Home Support Matters Poringland

Home Support Matters Poringland is a domiciliary care service. They provide personal and nursing care and support to people living in their own homes. 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 our inspection the service was providing a regulated activity to 65 people.

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

People using the service were supported with their safety. Risks, including those relating to infection control and people’s environment, were identified and actions to reduce risk taken in response. Information on how to raise concerns about people’s safety were provided to people and staff. Incidents that occurred in the service were reviewed and used as learning opportunities. People were supported by familiar and consistent staff who had been recruited safely. Medicines were managed safely, and people received these as prescribed.

People were supported by competent and trained staff. Systems were in place to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge required to support people’s individual needs. People’s needs were considered holistically, and best practice guidance utilised. People were supported to eat and drink in line with their needs and preferences. Staff encouraged people to consider healthy eating where appropriate. People’s health care needs were considered. Staff were proactive in working with social care and health professionals to ensure health needs were identified and met. 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 were supported in a kind, caring, and respectful manner. Staff knew people well and positive relationships had been formed. Staff appreciated the diverse, individual backgrounds, and social history that people had. Systems were in place to support people to express their views and make decisions regarding their care. Staff had enough time to support people in an unhurried manner. This provided informal opportunities to check people were happy with their care and support. People’s independence was encouraged, and staff were mindful of people’s privacy and dignity.

People received person centred care that took in to account their individual needs and preferences. People and their relatives, where appropriate, were involved in planning their care. Staff knew people well and this helped ensure their support was delivered in the manner they wanted. People’s communication needs had been assessed. Information had been supplied taking in to account people’s communication needs. Where relevant staff supported people to participate in hobbies and interests that were important to them. Information on how to complain was provided to people using the service. When concerns have been raised the service had investigated and responded to these. People were supported at the end of their lives. Staff acted to ensure people were comfortable and people’s families felt supported.

Previous issues with poor communication and organisation had, for some people, damaged trust and positivity regarding the management of the service. The management team acknowledged these issues. Work had taken place to improve communication and a stable service to help establish trusting relationships between people, staff, and management. An inclusive and open culture was being shaped. Staff were keen to engage, develop, and work with other stakeholders. There were opportunities for staff participation. Feedback from those involved in and using the service was sought. Quality monitoring systems were in place. Regular audits were carried out on the service to help ensure a consistent quality service and identify issues.

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 25 January 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.