27 April 2016
During a routine inspection
We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes and or the family home; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.
The provider registered this service with us to provide personal care and support for people with a range of varying needs including dementia, who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection eight people received support with personal care.
There was a manger in post who was applying with us to be registered. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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.
People said they were well supported by the staff. They told us staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. People were supported to eat and drink well, when identified as part of their care planning. People told us staff would access health professionals as soon as they were needed.
Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns. Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual risks, and were able to respond to peoples’ needs. People were supported to receive their medicines by staff that were trained and knew about the risks associated with them. Staff knew people well, and took people’s preferences into account and respected them. The management team were adaptable to changes in peoples’ needs.
Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people. Staff always ensured people gave their consent to the support they received. The manager was reviewing how they ensured they supported people with decisions within the legal requirements. There were no applications to the court of protection to deprive people of their liberty.
People knew how to raise complaints and the management team had arrangements in place to ensure people were listened to and appropriate action taken. Staff were involved in regular meetings, training and one to one’s to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. People and staff said the management team were accessible and supportive to them.
The management team monitored the quality of the service in an inclusive way. The management team had systems in place to identify improvements and were completing the necessary actions to drive up improvements.