Archived: Petts Wood Homecare Limited

Updated 6 February 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 site visit took place on 29 and 30 November 2017 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the registered manager is often out of the office and we needed to be sure they would be in.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we had about the service. This included notifications that the provider had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required by law to send us. We reviewed a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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 also reviewed a local authority contract monitoring report and feedback about their views of the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We spoke with nine people, two of these we visited in their homes, the other seven we spoke to by telephone. We also spoke to nine relatives, five care staff, the registered manager and two senior managers. We looked at five care plans, six staff files which included training, recruitment and supervision records. We also reviewed other records used in the management of the service such as quality assurance systems and policies and procedures.

Updated 6 February 2018

This inspection took place on 29 and 30 November 2017 and was announced. Petts Wood Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, to older adults, people living with dementia, physical disability and sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection, 34 people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

Risk to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure their needs were safely met. Medicines were managed safely and people were supported to take their medicines as prescribed by healthcare professionals. Both the management team and care staff knew of their responsibility to protect people from abuse and report and record any concerns of abuse. Adequate numbers of staff were deployed to support people. The provider had systems in place to ensure suitable staff were recruited for the role. Where issues were identified, lessons were learnt and improvements were made to the service. Appropriate measures were taken to ensure that people were protected from infectious diseases and staff had completed infection control and food hygiene training.

Staff were aware of the importance of seeking consent from people they supported and demonstrated an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Staff completed an induction when they started work and received training relevant to support people. Staff were supported with supervision; however, staff appraisals required improvement. Assessment of people's care and support needs were carried out by managers before people started using the service. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts for their wellbeing. The provider worked well together with other organisations such as the local authority and the NHS to deliver safe and effective care. People were supported to access healthcare services when they needed it.

Staff were compassionate towards people and were kind to them with dignity and respected. Staff knew people well and their preferences and respected their choices. People's independence was promoted to ensure they continue living in their own homes. People were involved in their care planning to ensure the care delivered met their needs. Staff said they would support people with diverse needs and had received equality and diversity training to ensure they had appropriate skills to so. People received personalised care that met their needs. The service was flexible and made changes to meet people’s individual needs. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint but did not have anything to complain about at the time of our inspection. People were provided with appropriate information when they started using the service to ensure they were aware of the standard of support they should expect.

The service had a registered manager who was experienced and complied with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Both the management team and care staff knew of the provider’s values and vision. The provider assessed and monitored the quality of the service and gathered people’s views through surveys and care plan reviews. The provider undertook spot checks to ensure quality and consistency were maintained. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and received good support from their managers.