Updated 5 December 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. 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.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by an 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 homes.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. At this service, the manager and the registered provider were the same person. They are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced.
We gave a short period of notice for the inspection because we needed to gain consent to contact some of the people using it. We also needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.
The Inspection activity started on 18 November 2019 and ended on 22 November 2019. We visited the office location on 20 November 2019.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with eighteen people who used the service and four people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the provider/registered manager, training manager, senior care workers, care workers and administrative staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision of staff. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including rotas, audits, training records and policies and procedures.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We also spoke with two professionals who regularly work with the service.