Background to this inspection
Updated
10 August 2022
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.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector who visited Flexicare South Midlands offices on 25 July 2022. Prior to the inspection visit, on 20 July 2022 an expert by experience made telephone calls to people and relatives. An expert by experience is someone who has experience of using this type of service. On 25 and 26 July 2022, a second Inspector made telephone calls to staff.
Service and service type
Flexicare South Midlands provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes. CQC regulates the personal care provided.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
The service did not have a registered manager. The service was managed by a manager who was in the process of registering with us.
Notice of inspection
This inspection visit was announced. We gave the service four days 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.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed the information we held, such as people and relatives’ feedback and statutory notifications, as well as information shared with us through external feedback and share your experience information. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who received a service to get their experiences about the quality of care received. We spoke with four relatives and asked them for their feedback about the service provided to their family member. We spoke with seven members of care staff, a care call co-ordinator, a human resources officer and the owner of the service.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and samples of medicine records and daily and associated records of their care. We looked at records that related to the management and quality assurance of the service, care calls, environmental risks and records for infection control and risk management. We also reviewed three staff recruitment files.
Updated
10 August 2022
About the service
Flexi Care South Midlands is registered to provide personal care to younger and older people, as well as people who have a mental health illness, physical disability, sensory Impairment or a learning disability. Care and support was provided to people at prearranged times who lived in their own home. At the time of this inspection visit, Flexi Care South Midlands supported 31 people who received a regulated activity. Care calls ranged from 30 minutes to one hour in duration. Four people received care 24 hours of the day, seven days a week.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives spoke positively about the service they or their relative received. People and their family members said they felt safe when staff supported them and their support for most of the time, was provided by a consistent staff team. People who received 24/7 support, had the same staff stay with them for several weeks to ensure continuity of care was maintained.
People told us staff for the most part, arrived on time and stayed for the agreed required time to support them. However, some people said they were not always informed if staff would arrive later than planned however, they all said their calls were completed. The manager agreed to follow this up with staff.
People were safe because staff were recruited safely. Staff and the provider knew how to keep people safe and protected from abusive practice by referring to the relevant agencies. Staff received training to help them meet people’s needs and when people’s needs changed, staff responded to those needs. For people who had complex health conditions, staff were trained so they knew how to care for them to meet their needs.
Staff followed infection control procedures in line with national guidance for reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other infections. People and relatives said staff wore PPE throughout their care calls.
People’s plans of care were detailed and accurate for staff to provide safe care. Reviews were completed to ensure staff continued to provide consistent care.
Risks related to people’s care were recorded and where required, risks were specific to certain people’s health or individual circumstances. There were instructions for staff to follow to manage those identified risks and people’s plans of care were personalised.
Staff’s knowledge of how to support people was consistent with people’s care records and what people told us. Care calls were managed well and staff were matched to people’s preferences, such as gender choices being respected.
People and relatives were complimentary about the management of the service. The quality and safety of the service people received was monitored by the provider and through increased checks recently introduced by a new manager to the service. The manager and staff said they worked well as a team.
The service does not currently have a registered manager in post which is a condition of registration. The provider confirmed an application for the current manager at the service to become registered with us had begun.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 12 December 2019). You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Flexi Care South Midlands our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing levels. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has stayed the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.