Archived: Halcyon Home Care

Updated 29 December 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 27 and 28 November 2018. It was carried out by one inspector and was announced. We gave the provider prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office. An expert by experience made telephone calls to interview people or their relatives. This is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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. Prior to the inspection we looked at all the information we had collected about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We also received feedback from two community professionals.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people who use the service and nine relatives. In addition, we spoke with the registered manager and received feedback from eight staff. We looked at records relating to the management of the service including four people's care plans and associated records. We reviewed five recruitment records, staff training records, incident and accident records, quality assurance records and compliments/complaints and policies relating to running the service.

Updated 29 December 2018

Halcyon Home Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults and people living with dementia. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

This inspection took place on 27 and 28 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 36 people.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated good

People felt safe while supported by the staff team who made them feel reassured and relatives agreed. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these appropriately.

People and relatives were complimentary about the staff and the support and care they provided. People received support that was individualised to their specific needs which was kept under review and amended as changes occurred. 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. People were treated with respect, and their privacy and dignity were promoted. People felt the staff supported them in the way they wanted. Staff were responsive to the needs of people and enabled them to improve and maintain their independence with personal care.

Where possible, the registered manager scheduled visits so the same staff went to see people to maintain continuity of care and support. People were informed about the changes to their visits as necessary. The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People felt confident they would be looked after well and relatives agreed. The service assessed risks to people's personal safety, as well as staff and visitors, and plans were in place to minimise those risks. There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required.

The service had recruitment procedure that they followed before new staff were employed to work with people. This included ensuring staff were of good character and suitable for their role. Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory. The registered manager and senior staff had planned and booked training when necessary to ensure all staff had the appropriate knowledge to support people. Staff had ongoing support supervision and appraisals. They felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff, and maintained good team work.

Staff felt the registered manager and senior staff were approachable and considerate. They had good communication, worked well together and supported each other, which benefitted the people who use the service. The registered manager had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the service and the quality of the service being delivered. The registered manager and the senior team were able to identify issues and improvements necessary and took actions promptly to address these. They praised the staff team for their hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.