GC Home Care

Updated 15 December 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

GC Homecare 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 younger disabled adults in Nottingham. Not everyone using this service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, 19 people were using the service.

On our last inspection on 8 September 2015 the service was rated as Good; on this inspection we found the service remained Good.

This was an announced inspection and we gave the provider five days’ notice of the inspection site visit. This was because the service is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care and we needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection site visit activity started on 21 November and ended on 23 November. It included telephone calls to nine people and relatives. We also spoke with six staff members, the registered manager, deputy manager and a manager from another organisation who also provided care for people who used this service. We received written feedback from a care co-ordinator from the local authority. We visited the office location on 23 November to see the registered manager; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

This announced inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. The expert by experience had knowledge of care services including domiciliary services.

On this occasion we did not ask the provider to send us a provider information return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. However, we offered the provider the opportunity to share information they felt relevant with us.

We looked at three people’s care records to see if their records were accurate and up to date. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including quality checks. We reviewed statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us and information received from people that used the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

Updated 15 December 2017

We inspected this service on 20 and 23 November 2017. 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 younger disabled adults. Not everyone using this service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

This announced inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. The expert by experience had knowledge of care services including domiciliary services.

There was a registered manager in the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

On our last inspection on 8 September 2015 the service was rated as Good; on this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People continued to receive safe care. People were protected from unnecessary harm by staff who knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report concerns. The staff were confident that any concerns would be reported by the registered manager. Individual risks were assessed and reviewed to keep people safe and protect them from avoidable harm. Some people received assistance to take medicines and records were kept to ensure that this was done safely. There were enough staff to provide care for people and safe recruitment procedures in place to ensure they were suitable to work with people.

People continued to receive effective care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible. People were able to make decisions about how they wanted to receive support to ensure their health needs were met. Staff were supported and trained to ensure that they had the skills to support people effectively. When people required assistance to eat and drink, the provider ensured that this was planned to meet their preferences and assessed need.

The care people received remained good. People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff who knew them well. People liked the staff who supported them and had developed good relationships. People had a small team of staff who provided their support in the way they wanted. Care was planned and reviewed with people and the provider ensured that people’s choices were followed. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and upheld by the staff.

The service remained responsive. People had care records that included information about how they wanted to be supported and this was reviewed to reflect any changing needs. There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain and were confident these would be responded to.

The service remained well led. Staff listened to people’s views about their care and they were able to influence the development of the service. Staff felt well supported by the registered manager. The quality of care was assessed and monitored to ensure standards were met and maintained. The registered manager understood the requirements of their registration and informed us of information that we needed to know. The manager promoted an open culture which put people at the heart of the service.