Home First - Moorlands

Updated 3 August 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. 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 people living in their own houses and

flats. It provides a service to older adults and/or younger disabled adults. Home First – Moorlands

provide a short-term enablement service. People usually have up to six weeks support following a

hospital stay or other event, with the aim of supporting them to regain their independence. The service also supports people to gain longer term care if needed.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, coordinator and support workers. We received information from a social care professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records. We looked at five 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.

Updated 3 August 2019

About the service

Home First – Moorlands is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to 58 older people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us there was a lack of consistent staff and people had experienced calls being missed. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff although they were not effectively deployed to meet the needs of people, which meant people’s safety was put at risk.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided however, the provider failed to listen to feedback from the registered manager, staff and people.

People did feel safe whilst being supported by staff and people’s risks were identified and monitored and staff knew how to protect people from abuse or avoidable harm.

People who needed support with the medication was done safely and staff followed safe practices to prevent the spread of infection.

People received support from staff who were trained to deliver effective care. Staff worked well with other professionals and referred people to health professionals when required to ensure people’s ongoing health needs were met.

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.

Staff treated people with kindness and respect and people were happy with the care they received. People were supported to regain their independence and were involved in their enablement goals.

People knew how to complain if they needed to and felt the management team were approachable and supportive. People had the opportunity to give feedback about the service they received.

We have made a recommendation for people to be supported by a regular staff team.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This is the first inspection for this location.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection due to the service having not yet been inspected.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to staffing issues and systems not being effective.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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

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.

Staff treated people with kindness and respect and people were happy with the care they received. People were supported to regain their independence and were involved in their enablement goals.

People knew how to complain if they needed to and felt the management team were approachable and supportive. People had the opportunity to give feedback about the service they received.

We have made a recommendation for people to be supported by a regular staff team.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This is the first inspection for this location.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection due to the service having not yet been inspected.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to staffing issues and systems not being effective.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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