My Pillar Limited

Updated 9 October 2021

Background to this inspection

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 two inspectors. One inspector visited the office location and a second inspector spoke to some staff on the telephone. An expert by experience also spoke with relatives on the telephone. 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 and also supports people in a supported living setting. Care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living. At the time of our inspection we were informed that the service was not providing personal care to people living in supported living settings.

The service had a manager 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. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 August 2021 and ended on 1 September 2021. We visited the office location on 25 August 2021.

What we did before inspection

We checked the information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, care co-ordinator and care workers. We spoke with four relatives of people using the service on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 9 October 2021

About the service

My Pillar Limited is a domiciliary service which provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs in their own houses and flats. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting four people with personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider had failed to regularly audit and check certain areas of the service. Care records needed improvement to ensure they contained enough information to guide staff about people’s support needs. The provider completed employment checks to ensure staff were suitable to deliver care and support before they started work. They need to strengthen the process further and ensure a full employment history was completed for all staff.

Improvement was needed to the systems for preventing and controlling infection. During our visit to the office we had to remind staff several times to wear their masks correctly. We also identified that the provider’s COVID-19 policy was not reflective of current guidance.

Staff had received training in infection control and demonstrated an understanding of what personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used when supporting people. Relatives confirmed that staff wore PPE (personal protective equipment) when coming into people’s homes.

Staffing levels were sufficient. There were enough trained staff within the service to ensure people’s planned care needs were met. Relatives told us staff were on time for planned care calls.

People were protected from abuse and relatives told us their loved ones received safe care. People received support from a regular staff team. Staff were trained in administering medicines safely. Competency checks had been completed to ensure staff were following safe practices.

Staff had good knowledge about the people they supported and told us they enjoyed working at the service. People's independence was promoted and respected. Staff supported people with eating, drinking and to access healthcare support. Staff treated people with respect and dignity, and feedback we received from relatives was positive about the care their family member received.

People and their relatives were able to give feedback about their care in a variety of ways. Examples included care reviews and during spot checks monitoring staff performance.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was last inspected on 11 December 2019 and was rated Good.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.