Archived: Mayfair Homecare - Southampton

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults.

At the time of inspection, there were 33 people receiving personal care services from the provider. Not everyone who used Mayfair Homecare Southampton received support in the form of a regulated activity CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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.

People told us that the provider’s arrangements to oversee the service outside of office hours were not effective. They felt the provider’s ‘On-Call’ service did not always effectively communicate when changes were made to people’s care or when staff were running late. The registered manager had recognised that improvements were needed and had implemented measures to improve the quality of this service. It was too soon to judge how effective these measures had been.

The provider assessed people’s needs to help ensure they received appropriate care. When people’s needs changed, the provider acted responsively to help ensure their changing needs were met.

The registered manager had overseen improvements to the service after feedback from the local authority. This included reforming their care planning document to enable it to better reflect people’s needs. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care and were asked for their feedback about how improvements could be made.

People received personalised care which reflected their equality, diversity and human rights. Staff understood the need to gain appropriate consent to care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were appropriate systems in place to handle complaints and concerns.

There were safe systems in place to manage people’s medicines. The registered manager’s auditing and quality assurance processes had identified where staff needed additional training and support to ensure safe medicines management.

Staff received training which was relevant to their role. The registered manager monitored their performance and ongoing training needs through supervision and observation of their working practice.

People were safeguarded against the risks of abuse and harm. The provider had worked with the local safeguarding teams to investigate individual concerns when they arose and put plans in plan to help keep people safe.

Risks to individuals were assessed and mitigated. The provider had systems in place to help ensure people received their care during extreme circumstances such as bad weather. There were systems in place to reduce the risk of infections spreading.

People’s dietary needs were assessed and documented in their care plans and the service made adjustments to help enable people to access healthcare services when required.

The provider had an electronic rota management system in place which helped them to monitor the care people received. There were enough staff in place to meet people’s needs and senior staff were available to provide care if required. The provider had safe recruitment practices in place.

The registered manager fostered a strong sense of community involvement by encouraging staff to participate in charity and community based events.

People told us staff were friendly and caring in their role.

The provider understood the principles of providing compassionate care at the end of people’s lives.

Sevacare Southampton provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a service to 56 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical frailty or memory loss due to the progression of age. The agency is managed from a centrally located office base in Southampton.

The agency had a registered manager. 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 service was currently in the process of registering the manager for the regulated activity of personal care.

We received positive feedback from people about the service. Those people who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke very highly of the staff.

Staff were responsive to people’s needs, which were detailed in peoples care plans. However we found some care plans were not always representative of people’s current needs and did not contain current information. The registered manager was aware of our concerns and actions had already been put in place, including staff being trained in care planning.

People told us they felt safe and secure when receiving care. Staff received training in safeguarding adults and child protection for when they came into contact with children. Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes. There were sufficient numbers of care workers to maintain the schedule of care visits. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervisions and support. Staff meetings were held monthly.

People’s risk assessments and those relating to their homes’ environment were detailed and helped reduce risks to people while maintaining their independence. People were supported to receive their medicines safely from suitably trained staff.

People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was respected. People were supported to eat and drink when needed and staff contacted healthcare professionals when required. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.

People felt listened to and a complaints procedure was in place. Regular audits of the service were carried out to asses and monitor the quality of the service. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and felt they could visit the office any time and be listened to.