Archived: Bosworth Homecare Services (Hinckley)

The service 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.

People told us they felt safe with the staff team from Bosworth Homecare Services (Hinckley). Support workers had received training in the safeguarding of people. They knew what to look out for and the actions to take to keep people safe. This including reporting any concerns to the management team.

The risks associated with people’s care and support had been assessed. This was so that as far as possible, people using the service and the staff team supporting them were kept safe from possible harm.

A recruitment process for recruiting new members of staff was in place. This involved the management team obtaining relevant checks to satisfy themselves that the new staff members were suitable to work at the service.

All new members of staff had been provided with a comprehensive induction into the service. This included four days of training and the opportunity to shadow experienced members of the staff team.

An assessment of people’s needs had been completed at the start of people’s care and support packages. They (and their relatives) had been involved in deciding what care and support they needed and had been involved in the development of their plan of care.

Plans of care seen were centred on the person and comprehensive in detail.

Training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) had been provided to everyone working at the service and both the management team and the support workers understood its principles.

Support workers understood their responsibilities when supporting people with their medicines. Training in medicine management had been provided and this was being refreshed on a regular basis.

People using the service told us that the staff team were kind and caring. They told us that they were treated with respect and their care and support was provided in a way they preferred.

A complaints process was in place and a copy of this had been given to everyone using the service. The people we spoke with told us that they knew what to do if they had a concern of any kind and felt able to raise any issue with the management team.

People using the service and their relatives had been asked for their opinion of the service they received. This was through the use of surveys and home visits made by a member of the management team. The staff team were also asked for their thoughts of the service. This was through the use of surveys, staff meetings and one to one sessions with the branch manager. This meant that everyone involved with the service had the opportunity to have their say.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided.

We spoke with the branch manager, the registered manager, a care worker's team leader, a senior care worker and a care worker. We looked at policies and some of the records held in the service, including care files for 23 people who used the service.

We considered all the evidence we had gathered under the outcomes we inspected. We used the information to answer the five questions we always ask.

Is the service safe?

People told us they felt safe with the care worker who visited them. People knew the care workers who supported them. They told us that when a new care worker visited them they had always been accompanied by an experienced care worker. All the people we spoke with spoke in a complimentary way about the service and told us they felt safe when thy received care and support.

We found that care plans contained details of people's needs and how they were supported. We found that care workers understood what was required to meet people's needs and keep them safe.

Is the service effective?

People told us that they thought staff knew and understood their needs. People told us that care workers visited them at times they expected most of the time. The provider had tried to ensure that people were visited by the same care workers most of the time.

People's care plans had been reviewed and updated at regular intervals. That meant that care and support had been modified to meet people's changing needs.

Comments received from people included, 'The carers come a times I expect and they do everything they should" and "The service is excellent, I wouldn't change them."

People had their needs regularly assessed, monitored and reviewed. The provider had carried out checks that care workers provided care in a safe and appropriate manner. This showed people could be assured the provider had effective systems for delivering care that met people's needs.

A small number of people whose care plans we looked at lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care; we spoke with their relatives. Relatives told us that care workers sought consent before care and support was provided. People who used the service told us they had been treated with dignity and respect.

We saw the provider had ensured staff had received relevant training and support. That meant understood how people's needs should be met.

Is the service caring?

People spoke highly of the care workers who supported them. They described staff as kind, caring and respectful.

People who used the service told us that care workers completed their care routines, One person said, 'The carers attention to detail is very good. They do everything I need." Another said, "The carers always ask if there is anything else I want them to do."

People told us that care workers treated with respect. One person told us, 'The carers treat me with utmost respect." Another said, "The carers respect my privacy when they wash and dress me." Their comments were representative of what other people told us. We found that staff were caring and that they supported people appropriately.

The provider had a procedures for helping people with their prescribed medicines. People told us that care workers had reminded them or helped them to take the right medicines at the right time. Records we saw confirmed that to be the case.

The provider had effective recruitment procedures that ensured as far as possible that only people who were suited to work with vulnerable people had been recruited.

Is the service responsive?

Some people told us they had raised concerns in the past that the provider had responded to by making improvements. None of the people we spoke with had made a complaint since our last inspection but they knew how to if they felt it necessary. We saw that the provider had an effective system for investigating and responding to complaints.

People had been involved in reviews of their care plans. The provider had asked people for views about the service in the form of a satisfaction survey. We saw from people's responses to the survey that they were satisfied with the quality of care and support they experienced. The provider had acted upon people's responses and had made improvements where required.

Comments received from people included, 'I've been involved in discussions about my care" and "The manager has contacted me to ask for my views."

We found that the service had listened to and acted upon people's concerns.

Is the service well-led?

People told us they thought the service was well run. Comments included, 'I'm very satisfied. I can't fault them. Everything about them is good." A person who had not used a home-care service before told us, "I've been pleasantly surprised. They've been very good and helpful."

The provider had quality assurance procedures in place that monitored the quality of the service provided. We saw that when the provider had identified shortfalls improvements had been made.

We saw that the provider had continually looked at ways the service could be improved.

Each care record we reviewed contained a communication form which showed us that there was good communication between the provider, the people using the service, their families and other health professionals.

One person told us:" I receive good quality care. My life is so much less stressful now. The care I receive has prevented my admission to hospital'. All their responses indicated that care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare.

All the people we spoke with told us they felt safe. One person told us:' I feel totally safe and have the utmost confidence in the staff'.

All the people told us they were very happy with their care. One person told us:' The care workers are generally on time and the timing of my visits suits me. On the whole I have the same care workers'. However another person told us:' I do have a lot of different care workers but they are all competent and very friendly'.

The people we spoke with confirmed that they were consulted about the quality of the care provided. One person told us:' I have had a visit and we went through my care and the paperwork. I was asked if I was happy and whether I wanted to change anything'. Another person explained:' I filled a questionnaire out this morning'.