Updated 21 September 2023
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
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
The service is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post since 26 May 2023 and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection. This was to make arrangements to carry out a virtual inspection and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 18 July 2023 and ended on 25 July 2023. We contacted people and relatives on 20 July 2023.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we held about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service 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 the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 8 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the manager, co-ordinator and received email feedback from 7 care staff.
We reviewed a range of records including 3 people's care and medicines records. We looked at recruitment records for 3 members of staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were also reviewed.
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location's office. We used technology such as video/telephone calls and emails to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
Following the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed all evidence sent to us electronically by the provider.