Archived: RNID-Action on Hearing Loss, West Midlands Domiciliary Care Service

Updated 10 July 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. 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:

This inspection visit took place on 18 June 2019. The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector and an interpreter.

Service and service type:

The provider is registered with us to provide personal care and support for people who live in their own homes who are living with a hearing impairment. At the time of our inspection one person received care and support from this 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:

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the 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:

We checked the information, we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications the provider had sent to us about incidents at the service. A notification is information about events that by law the registered persons should tell us about. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to formulate our inspection plan.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service, some who did not receive a regulated activity. We looked at care records for the one person was receiving a regulated activity. We checked the care they received matched the information in their records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including audits carried out within the home and staff recruitment.

Updated 10 July 2019

About the service:

The provider is registered with us to provide personal care and support for people who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection one person received care and support from this service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People continued to receive safe care. Individual risks were considered and reviewed. There were enough staff available to offer support to people, so they could receive their assessed hours. There were safeguarding procedures in place and staff demonstrated an understanding in this. Infection control procedures were in place and followed. There were systems in place to ensure lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

The care people received was effective. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff received training that helped them to support people. When needed people received support from health professionals.

People continued to be supported in a caring way by staff they were happy with. People's privacy and dignity was promoted, and people continued to be offered choices. People were encouraged to be independent.

People continued to receive responsive care. Staff knew people well and received care in their preferred way. Complaint procedures were in place and followed when needed. People participated in activities they enjoyed.

The service remained well led. Quality assurance systems were in place to identify where improvements could be made and when needed these changes were made. The provider notified us of significant events that occurred within the home. Feedback was sought from people who used the service.

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (Published 24 October 2016.)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.