Hygea Care Group Ltd

Updated 31 January 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 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience who made phone calls to people and their relatives who used the service. 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.

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

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.

Inspection activity started on 10 January 2023 and ended on 13 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 10 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people and their relatives who used the service. We spoke with the registered manager, operations manager, care manager and care support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care plans and medicine records. We looked at 2 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. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 31 January 2023

About the service

Hygea Home Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the agency was supporting 13 people. 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.

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.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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

Right Support:

There was a transparent and open culture which encouraged creative thinking in relation to people’s safety. Risks to people's care had been identified and care plans contained detailed and person-centred information for staff to know how to mitigate the risk. Care records provided details about people's health needs, how they wished to be supported and what their long-term health goals were.

Respect for privacy and dignity was at the heart of the service’s culture and values, and people were supported to maintain their independence for as long as possible. There was a thorough approach to planning and coordinating people’s care. Staffing resources were organised exceptionally well to provide people with continuity of staffing resulting in safe, consistent, responsive care. Staff worked together in a mutually supportive way and communicated effectively with a range of external organisations.

The provider ensured that staff focused on building and maintaining open and honest relationships with people and their families, friends and other carers. The registered manager used creative ways to reflect people’s personal histories and cultural backgrounds and matched staff with people’s interests and personalities.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. People and their relatives told us they were supported by a regular team of staff and they were always aware of which staff member would be attending their home.

Staff were trained and had an exceptionally good understanding of people's needs. Staff supported people, when needed, to access other health professionals. Staff competency was tested in relation to tasks they performed such as medicine administration.

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.

Right Care:

People's care was always person-centred. People told us the scheduling of their call met their requirements and staff arrived and stayed the allocated time with some staff, “Often going above and beyond and staying longer to socialise,” without compromising calls to other people.

Staff showed empathy and had an enabling attitude that encouraged people to challenge themselves, while recognising and respecting their lifestyle choices. People always received positive outcomes and praised staff for supporting and encouraging them with enhanced care tasks such as speech and language therapy.

Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it, this ensured people were protected from harm and abuse. Staff understood people's cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care.

Right Culture:

The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and was open and transparent. Staff told us they were supported and able to raise concerns freely with the management team. There were effective systems and processes in place which ensured the care delivered was monitored, assessed and improved upon.

The provider worked in partnership with other professionals and had been successful in reducing hospital admissions by upskilling and sharing best practices with other organisations.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 5 October 2021 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.