Better at Home (IOW) Limited

Updated 8 June 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was conducted by one inspector on the 10 May 2019, and an expert by experience who carried out telephone interviews with people using the service. An expert by experience (ExE) is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The ExE had experience of care for older people and those living with dementia.

Service and service type:

Better at Home (IOW) Limited provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. Not everyone required a personal care service and at the time of our inspection 60 people were receiving personal care from Better at Home (IOW) Limited. 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 visit. This is because the service is small and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available. Inspection site visit activity started on 8 May 2019 and ended on 10 May 2019. We visited the office location on 10 May 2019 to see the registered manager, office staff and care staff and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed information, we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We also considered information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we gathered information from:

Nine people who used the service and three relatives of people who used the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, the training manager and four members of care staff. We viewed eight people’s care records, records of accidents, incidents and complaints, and audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 8 June 2019

About the service:

Better at Home (IOW) Limited is domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. Not everyone using Better at Home (IOW) Limited received 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. At the time of our inspection 60 people were receiving a regulated activity from the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

We received positive feedback from all people and relatives. All staff including the management team, care staff and office staff were praised for their kindness and professionalism and the consistent high quality and reliability of the service provided.

People told us they received safe care and were confident that if they raised concerns, the management team would act promptly to address these.

People were supported by consistent and suitably trained staff.

People received their medicines as prescribed and infection control risks were managed effectively.

Individual and environmental risks were managed appropriately, and people were protected from avoidable harm.

People's rights to make their own decisions were respected. Staff supported people to make choices in line with legislation.

People were supported to access health and social care professionals if needed.

Care plans were detailed and person centred. People were involved in deciding how they wished to be supported and in reviewing their care plans when needed.

The management team kept in regular contact with people by visiting them in their homes, checking if they were happy with the service they received and if any changes were needed.

The management team were open and transparent. They understood their regulatory responsibilities.

A quality assurance system was in place to continually assess, monitor and improve the service.

The service worked well with other partners, organisations and commissioners.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas. More information is in the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was last inspected in October 2016 where we undertook a full comprehensive inspection (report published November 2016). It was awarded a rating of Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous inspection rating.

Follow up:

There is no required follow up to this inspection. We will continue to monitor all information received about the service to understand any risks that may arise and to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.