6 September 2016
During a routine inspection
At the time of this inspection 15 people were using the service, nine of whom were receiving support with personal care needs. The total hours of personal care provided were around 40 hours per week. Calls were provided from 0900 to 1700 hrs, with a typical call lasting an hour. The service also provided domestic support and companionship to people, but we did not inspect these aspects of the service as the Care Quality Commission does not regulate these services. This inspection looked at the care and support of those people who received assistance with their personal care.
This inspection took place on 6 and 7 September 2016.This was an announced inspection which meant the provider had prior knowledge that we would be visiting the service. This was because the location provides a domiciliary care service, and we wanted to make sure the manager would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf.
The owner of the company (known as the provider) also held the position of registered manager and managed the service on a day to day basis, in addition to providing care to people who used 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.
The service was last inspected in September 2014 when we found it was not meeting the regulations in relation to maintaining adequate care records and assessing and monitoring service provision. During this inspection we found the provider had breached Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because the provider's quality monitoring process failed to identify our concerns in relation to care records lacking sufficient detail and individual risk assessments not being reviewed regularly.
Training records showed not all staff training was up to date. Staff had not completed up to date training in infection control and safeguarding.
We found some improvements had been made in assessing and monitoring the quality of the service as staff received regular observations of their competence and people's feedback had been sought.
People told us they felt safe and comfortable with staff, and were happy with the continuity of care they received.
The provider had policies in place to deal with safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents but no events of this type had occurred since the last inspection.
People and relatives told us staff were caring and listened to what people wanted and needed. People said they had positive relationships with care staff. One person said, “They’re lovely girls. I can’t think of anything to make it better. I’m very happy with the service.” Another person told us, “The staff listen to me and are very caring.”
The provider had a ‘service information’ booklet for people who used the service. This included information about how to make a complaint, including the contact details of the provider. People we spoke with said they felt comfortable about contacting the provider at any time to discuss the service.
People and relatives felt the service was well-run. People told us the provider was very approachable.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.