Updated 17 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector, an assistant 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 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
We gave the service 24 hours' 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.
Inspection activity started on 02 March 2022 and ended on 03 March 2022. We visited the office location on 02 March 2022 and spoke with relatives of people receiving care and support on 03 March 2022.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service and the provider which included any statutory notifications sent to the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. 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 this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection we reviewed four people's care plan and risk assessments. We looked at medicine administration records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. We also reviewed other records relating to the management of the service, including complaints records and management audits. We spoke with the registered manager, the manager, care-coordinator and four care staff. We spoke with seven people and four relatives of people who were receiving personal care and support about their experience of the care provided.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We further reviewed training data and quality assurance records.