Radfield Home Care Colchester

Updated 10 May 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 service was inspected by 1 inspector.

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 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 27 March 2023 and ended on 11 April 2023. We visited the location’s office on 29 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records and medication 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 spoke to 3 staff members and the registered manager.

Following the inspection, we spoke to 1 person and 2 relatives. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training and quality assurance records.

Updated 10 May 2023

About the service

Radfield Home Care Colchester is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. The service provides support to disabled people, younger adults, and older people some who may or may not be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service.

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

People and their relatives felt safe and spoke positively about care workers because they had confidence in their knowledge and skills. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm through abuse. Staff were confident concerns raised would be acted upon appropriately.

Medicines were managed safely, and people were supported by trained staff. Medicine audits were able to highlight any errors so appropriate action could then be taken to reduce a reoccurrence. Checks were undertaken to ensure staff continued to be competent to manage medicines safely.

Recruitment practices were safe, and checks were carried out to make sure staff were suitable to work with people who needed care and support. Staff received the training they required to meet people’s needs. Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the registered manager and told us they felt listened to.

People’s needs were comprehensively assessed with them and were at the centre of their care and support. Care plans were personalised to meet their individual needs. People told us staff knew them well, were kind and caring, respected their privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.

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.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service people received. The management team were committed to providing a high-quality service to people with a strive to continuous improvement. The registered manager worked well with external agencies to provide a better outcome for people who use the service.

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 24 November 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection because the service had not been inspected or rated.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.