Guardian Homecare (Burnley)

Updated 9 April 2020

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

The inspection was carried out by an inspector, an assistant inspector and three Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Guardian Homecare (Burnley) 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

This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice, to ensure they would be available and to give them time to gain people’s consent for us to contact them for feedback.

Inspection activity started on 27 February 2020 and ended on 28 February 2020. We visited the office location on both dates and the Experts by Experience contacted people supported by the service and their relatives by telephone on 27 February 2020, to gain their feedback about the service.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send to us to give us 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.

During the inspection

We spoke on the telephone with 42 people and relatives about the support provided by the service. We spoke with the registered manager and four care staff. We reviewed a range of records, including three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff recruitment files and staff supervision and appraisal records. We also reviewed a variety of records related to the management of the service, including policies and audits.

After the inspection

We contacted two community professionals for their feedback about the service.

Updated 9 April 2020

About the service

Guardian Homecare (Burnley) is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 183 people.

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

People felt safe when staff supported them, and staff managed risks to people’s safety appropriately. No-one had experienced any missed visits and people told us staff stayed as long as they should. Most people told us staff arrived on time, but some told us staff were sometimes late and they were not always informed of this. The registered manager was addressing this. The provider recruited staff safely and staff knew how to protect people from abuse. Staff followed safe infection control practices and administered people’s medicines as prescribed.

People felt staff had the knowledge and skills to meet their needs. Staff received an appropriate induction and training. They supported people to eat and drink enough and to access healthcare services when needed. 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 treated people well. People liked the staff who supported them and told us staff were friendly, caring and respectful. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and respected their right to privacy and dignity. They encouraged people to be independent when it was safe to do so.

Staff offered people choices and provided them with personalised support that reflected their needs and preferences. Most people were supported by staff who knew them. People valued the visits from staff, which helped some avoid feelings of social isolation and loneliness. People felt comfortable raising concerns. Complaints had been investigated and responded to appropriately, but complaints documentation needed to be clearer.

Staff understood their responsibilities and the provider’s aims and provided care which resulted in good outcomes for people. People, relatives and staff felt the service was managed well. Staff and management worked in partnership with community agencies to ensure people received the support they needed. People’s views were sought about the service. Management completed regular checks to ensure people received high quality, safe care.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 October 2017). Since this rating was awarded, the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the new provider’s 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.