Updated 16 August 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 team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their area of expertise was with older people.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in homes.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
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 3 July 2019 and ended on 15 July 2019. We visited the office location on 3 and 7 July 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.
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with 11 people and four relatives or friends. We also spoke with the registered manager and five staff.
We reviewed a range of records including three care plans and medicines records, four staff files, staff rotas and training records and other information about the management of the service. This included quality assurance records and audits.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records and obtained feedback about the service from one health and social care professional.