Archived: aVida - Gloucester

Updated 23 February 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector 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 care service.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults and people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 9th January 2019 and ended on 14th January 2019. We visited the office location on 9th and 14th January to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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 other information we held about the service as well as previous inspection reports and notifications we had received from the service. Notifications are information about important events that the service is legally required to submit to CQC.

During our visit to the service’s office we looked at four people’s care records and those files relating to staff development and the management of the service. We spoke with three care staff, the visit scheduler, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We also spoke with ten people and one relative by telephone and received feedback from three health care professionals.

Updated 23 February 2019

About the service: aVida – Gloucester provides personal care and support to people living in their own home. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 43 people who required personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People and their relatives told us they were happy with the service they received and felt safe amongst the staff who supported them.

• People highly praised the caring nature of staff and told us staff were polite and they respected people’s dignity and privacy.

• People were involved in the assessment of their care and encouraged to retain their independence. Their care plans focused on people’s abilities and desired outcomes and provided staff with the information they needed to support people.

• People’s support needs were met. Staff always asked for people’s consent before they supported them.

• Safe and responsive systems were in place for staff to report any incidents, near misses or when people were found missing from their home.

• There were sufficient staff available to ensure people were supported by familiar staff who understood their needs.

• People’s support needs and risks had been assessed and were managed well.

• People received their medicines in a safe and timely manner and were referred to health care services when their needs changed.

• Staff were trained and supported to carry out their role and were knowledgeable about good care practices and their responsibilities to protect people from harm and abuse.

• Safe recruitment processes were in place to ensure people were cared for by suitable staff.

• Quality assurances systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided and actions were being taken by the registered manager to address any shortfalls.

• We have made a recommendation relating to the communication from staff if they were running late and the introduction of new staff.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Last report was published on 13 July 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: The rating of this inspection and the information and intelligence that we receive about the service will determine the timeframe of our next inspection.