Background to this inspection
Updated
11 June 2019
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. The registered manager was not present during our visit.
Notice of inspection:
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that someone would be available to assist us.
Inspection site visit activity started and ended on 25 March 2019. We visited the office location on this date to see the manager and office staff; to review care records as well as policies and procedures.
What we did:
Our plan took into account information the provider sent us since the last inspection. We also considered information about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse; and we looked at issues raised in complaints and how the service responded to them. We obtained information from the local authority commissioners and safeguarding team and other professionals who work with the service.
We assessed the 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection.
We spoke with six people using the service and two relatives to ask about their experience of care. We also spoke with the nominated individual, operations director and four members of staff.
We looked at six people's care records and a selection of medication and medication administration (MARs). We looked at other records including quality monitoring records, recruitment and a training matrix for all staff.
Updated
11 June 2019
About the service: Winspear Garth (trading as Home Instead St Helens) is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to people living in the St Helens area. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care. This includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At this inspection there were 28 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service:
People were protected from the risk of abuse and harm. All staff had completed training in topics of safeguarding and they understood their responsibilities for keeping people safe and reporting any concerns about people's safety. The risks people faced in their lives were fully assessed in order to keep them safe. Robust recruitment and matching procedures were followed for staff. The risk of staff not visiting people in a timely manner was eliminated because of a computerised system that ensured people received support to meet their needs. Medicines were safely managed, and people were supported to be as independent as possible with managing their own medicines. Accidents and incidents were reported in an open and transparent way and action was taken to reduce further occurrences and learn from them.
An holistic approach had been followed in the assessment, planning and delivery of people’s care and support. Care plans were detailed and person-centred and reflected people’s personal preferences. They identified a progression to assisting people to become more independent in their daily lives. Staff provided care and support that was provided in a way people preferred and provided consistent and positive outcomes that met their expectations. Staff worked hard to provide a consistently better quality of life for people by supporting them to develop in areas such as communication, social interaction and independence. People consistently spoke highly of the support provided and we heard many examples where people had become more independent following the input of the service.
People and family members were, without exception very positive about how kind and caring staff, and the management team were. They considered the staff team to be completely trustworthy and had developed strong working relationships as a result of the staff approach. Staff and management were highly motivated in providing consistent person-centred care. People told us they felt listened to, valued, respected and included in every aspect of their care and support. Staff and managers had the skills available to support people and their relatives if they were reaching the end of their lives.
The management of the service demonstrated a high level of experience and capability to deliver support. Managers and leaders had knowledge and a person-centred vision which inspired staff to provide outstanding care and inspired confidence and passion in the staff team. The management team placed a strong emphasis on supporting people to become more independent in their lives. Managers sought to gain the views of people in a meaningful way which informed the future development of the service and to act upon suggestions made. The management team were commended by people for operating a well led service. They were praised by people who used the service and their families. This was reflected in testimonies recommending anyone looking for support in their own homes. The management team worked closely in partnership with other agencies who were involved in people’s lives.
Rating at last inspection: The service was rated as good at our last inspection in June 2016.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk