Updated 23 March 2022
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 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 care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to older people and people with a physical disability living in their own houses and flats. At the time of our inspection the service was not providing personal care to people with a learning disability.
The service is registered to provide the regulated activity of Treatment of disease, disorder and injury. At the time of our inspection this regulated activity was not being provided to people using the 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 prior notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return received in May 2021.This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, the nominated individual, the branch and two 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 three people’s care records and 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, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We sought and received feedback from the local authority and also spoke with two members of staff.