25 January 2016
During a routine inspection
Nurses Cottage provides domiciliary care for people who live in their own home in Tamworth. At the time of our inspection, eight people were receiving personal care support from the provider.
There was a registered manager in 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 provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care. People were encouraged to give their feedback and this was used to drive improvements. Quality audits within the registered office had not been carried out to ensure the premises was safe.
People felt safe when they received care and were confident that the staff knew how they wanted to be supported. Staff understood how to minimise the chance of harm occurring to people and risks assessments recorded any concerns. Staff understood how to recognise potential harm and protect people from abuse and knew how to report concerns. Recruitment checks were made to confirm staff were of good character to work with people and sufficient staff were available to meet people's support needs.
People had capacity to make decisions about their own care and their consent was sought before staff provided any care and support. People received staff support at a time they wanted it and were happy with how the staff supported and helped them to take their medicine as prescribed.
Staff knew people well and were able to tell us how they supported people. There was a small team of staff who had the skills to meet people’s needs. The support was flexible and responsive to changes. People benefitted from having staff who had a good understanding of their individual challenges and supported them to retain their independence.
People were treated with care and kindness and their wellbeing was protected. People chose how support was delivered and they were involved in the review of their care. Staff listened to people’s views and they knew how to make a complaint or raise concerns. Staff helped people to understand what was happening so that they were not anxious or uncomfortable.