Background to this inspection
Updated
20 September 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.
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. This person was also the registered provider. This means that they 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 that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 2 September 2019 and ended on 6 September 2019. We visited the office location on 5 September 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who either used the service or were family members of those that did about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider/registered manager. We also had feedback from two professionals who had contact with the service and the local authority commission team.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five 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.
After the inspection
The registered manager forwarded to us confirmation and additional evidence in regards to medicines, recruitment and mental capacity.
Updated
20 September 2019
About the service
Special People North is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to both adults and children.
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 this inspection, five people received this level of service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were very complimentary about the management of service and the skill, reliability and continuity of the staff employed.
Care and support were delivered by staff who had been supported through a robust recruitment process. Staff had an effective induction, ongoing training and adequate supervision.
Prior to using the service, people’s needs were assessed to ensure they could be met. People received care and support which was safe and personalised to their individual needs. Staff and the people they supported had been ‘matched’ through the recruitment process in order that they felt comfortable and confident working together.
Staff understood their responsibility to protect people in their care from abuse and report any concerns they had. Risks to people had been assessed, identified and appropriate management plans were in place to minimise the risk of harm. People were supported to take their medicines safely.
People were supported to maintain good health; eat healthily and access additional services when required.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring, respected their privacy and dignity and promoted their independence. Staff understood people's diverse needs and supported them in a caring way.
People's communication needs had been assessed and met. People were supported to participate in activities that interested them
A complaints process was available and those we spoke to knew how to complain if they were unhappy; however, people told us they had nothing to complain about at this time.
The service had an effective system in place to assess and monitor the quality of the care and worked in partnership with key organisations to plan and deliver an effective service. People and their relatives' views had been sought and their feedback had been used to improve the quality of care and support provided.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good ( published 18 March 2017 ).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.