Dedicated Care

Updated 29 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 14 June and 6 July 2018. On these dates we visited the office but on two other days we also phoned people using the service and e-mailed staff working at the service to gather their views. We announced our visits on 14 June and 6 July 2018 to ensure staff were available to assist with the inspection.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspectors 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 service.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with ten people receiving a service. We also spoke with two relatives and contacted all the staff members. We spoke with the manager and reviewed four staff members written responses.

We reviewed three people’s care files, staff files, staff training records and a selection of records relating to the management of the service. Before our visit we sought feedback from eight health and social care professionals to obtain their views of the service provided to people; and received feedback from one.

Updated 29 August 2018

This inspection took place at the service’s office in Cullompton on 14 June and 6 July 2018. We announced our visit the day before to ensure staff were available to assist with the inspection.

Dedicated Care provides personal care to people who need assistance in their own homes. The area the service covers includes Tiverton, Broadclyst and Cullompton . At the time of our inspection there were 34 people receiving a personal care service and 15 staff worked at the service.

At our last inspection in October 2015, we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found evidence continued to support the rating of good in five key questions. From our ongoing monitoring of the service there was no evidence that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The registered provider provides care to people using the service. 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. Since our last inspection, they have employed a manager, who has applied to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and manages the service on a day to day basis.

People gave us positive feedback about the staff and the management team. They said they could speak with staff if they had a concern and were confident actions would be taken, if required. There was a strong commitment to staff training, which included recognising and reporting abuse, and increasing the staff team’s knowledge and skills. Recruitment practices ensured people were supported by appropriate staff.

Medicines were well managed. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Care plans reflected people’s needs and gave staff clear guidance about how to support them safely. Care plans were individualised. People were referred promptly to health care services when required. A number of effective methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service provided.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA). Where people lacked capacity, mental capacity assessments were completed and best interest decisions made in line with the MCA. Staff supported people to be involved in making decisions and planning their own care on a day to day basis. People said staff treated them with dignity and respect in a caring and compassionate way.