Tabeth Care

Updated 3 April 2020

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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.

The registered manager was also the nominated individual and provider. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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.

The inspection activity started on 13 February 2020 and ended on 28 February 2020. We visited the office on 13 and 20 February 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they were first registered with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and two family members about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff; this included the registered manager/nominated individual, service manager and human resources manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four 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 April 2020

About the service

Tabeth Care is a small domiciliary care service that provides support and personal care to older people in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection 19 people were receiving support with personal care.

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

The registered manager had recently recruited a service manager and human resources manager to support them with the day-to-day management of Tabeth Care. Since their recruitment, both managers had worked hard to make necessary improvements to the service and the care people received.

The registered manager was not always visible and did not have day-to-day oversight of the service. People and family members did not know who the registered manager was and had not been contacted by them since receiving support. Staff members told us they had little contact from the registered manager but felt well supported by the newly recruited managers.

People told us they felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff showed a good level of knowledge around how to protect people from abuse or harm and the actions they should take if they had any concerns. Risks to people and the environment they lived in had been assessed and plans were in place to manage these. Those who required support with their medication had appropriate plans and assessments in place.

Newly recruited staff were subject to relevant pre-employment checks to ensure they were safe to work with vulnerable people. Managers worked hard to ensure staff were allocated calls within the same location so that people received support at the right times and from consistent staff. People told us staff were almost always on time and if they were going to be late, they would be contacted in advance.

People's needs were fully assessed in line with nationally recognised standards and guidance. The service ensured they were able to meet people's needs effectively before providing them with support. Most staff were recently recruited and had not completed all necessary training; courses had been booked for those staff who required it. Staff showed a good level of knowledge and understanding for their role and people's needs. They told us they were well supported by the managers and able to seek advice whenever needed.

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.

People and family members told us staff were kind and caring and treated them well. People spoke fondly of the staff who visited them and it was evident positive, trusting relationships had been developed. People were supported to remain as independent as possible and told us staff treated them with dignity and respect at all times.

Care plans were in the process of being updated to include more person-centred information about people's life histories. People told us they felt staff knew them well and it was evident from conversations that staff knew the people they supported. Where required, staff supported people to access the community to help reduce social isolation. People's communication needs and difficulties were considered as part of the assessment process.

People and family members knew who to contact if they had any concerns. The managers told us they had not received any formal complaints since being in post and that any concerns raised were dealt with immediately. We discussed the importance of maintaining a record of complaints/concerns to show evidence of the service has improved.

Whilst the registered manager was not involved in the day-to-day running of the service, positive feedback and comments had been received from people, family members and staff regarding the managers and their ability to run the service. They were described by all as supportive, approachable and knowledgeable. The managers were passionate about promoting a person-centred culture and had received positive feedback from social care professionals about the improvements they had made.

Systems were in place to check the quality and safety of the service and regular meetings, reviews and calls were held with staff and people to obtain their views about the service provided.

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

Rating at the last inspection - This was the first inspection for this newly registered service.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our timescales for newly registered services.

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.