Background to this inspection
Updated
16 February 2023
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
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. They made telephone calls to people who use the service and relatives.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced.
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 10 January 2023 when we requested initial information from the service. We visited the location’s office on 24 January 2023. We continued to review evidence until 3 February 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We met with the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We checked a range of required records. These included care plans, staff personnel and training records, a sample of policies, procedures and other guidance, audits, observations of staff practice and medicines administration records.
We spoke with 10 relatives and 4 people who use the service. Emails were sent to all staff inviting them to provide feedback to us. We contacted community professionals who are involved in the care of people who use this service.
After the inspection
We reviewed information sent to us by the registered manager and sought clarification about some of the evidence. We reviewed feedback sent to us by interested parties such as staff and community professionals.
Updated
16 February 2023
About the service
Walfinch Mid & South Buckinghamshire is a domiciliary care service providing support to people in their own homes. The service was providing support to 31 people at the time of our inspection, in the High Wycombe and surrounding areas.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People spoke positively about the service and told us it met their or their relatives’ care needs. Comments included “They are kind, compassionate and caring. Various ones come and they all get on very well,” “They are very patient with my husband and understand why he is sometimes very awkward with them. It is usually the same carer which helps. She is very kind.” Another person told us “I cannot fault them.” Community professionals were also complimentary of the service.
People received safe care. Staff understood about protecting people from abuse and knew how to report it. Medicines were handled safely. Risk assessments had been written to reduce the likelihood of injury or harm to people. There were procedures for preventing the spread of infection and staff had access to personal protective equipment. We have made a recommendation about hand hygiene as some staff were seen wearing nail varnish and acrylic nails. Recruitment checks were carried out before staff started work. We have made a recommendation to improve the quality of references.
People received effective care. People’s privacy, dignity and independence were promoted and they told us the service met their needs. Care plans were in place to record the support people needed. Staff received an induction and there was a comprehensive training programme to equip care workers with the skills they needed to meet people’s needs and support them safely. There were checks to make sure care workers applied their training when they supported people.
The service was managed effectively. Staff said they felt supported and had good training opportunities. Audits were carried out to check the quality of people’s care and make improvements where necessary. The provider and registered manager kept up to date with care practice. They worked well with other agencies and understood their responsibilities towards acting in an open and transparent way (duty of candour) and to inform relevant authorities of incidents. People told us there was effective communication at the service.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
Right Support: The model of care maximised people’s choice, control and independence.
Right Care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights.
Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using the services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
This service was registered with us on 5 November 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.