Home Instead Senior Care

Updated 2 February 2024

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 29 December 2023 and ended on 13 January 2024.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us 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

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as email and telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.’

We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 10 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We received feedback from seven members of staff including the registered manager and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and their medicines records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures and training records were reviewed.

Updated 2 February 2024

About the service

Home Instead Senior Care is a service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides long term, short term, and respite care to people within the community. At the time of our inspection, the service supported 105 people.

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. At the time of inspection there was 63 people in receipt of personal care.

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

People received safe care and were protected from the risk of avoidable harm and abuse. People told us they were supported by a consistent team of staff who knew them well and were always informed of changes and if staff were running late.

Staff were recruited safely and received induction and training for their roles. Staff told us they were supported by the registered manager and received regular supervisions and feedback.

Processes were in place to support people with their medicines if required. Infection control measures were in place including staff use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Where people required support with their eating and drinking needs, staff had receiving relevant training to enable them to do this safely and in line with people’s wishes.

People told us they had access to their care plan, and these were regularly updated to ensure appropriate care was being delivered. Care plans were person centred and identified risk. There was clear guidance for staff on how to support people whilst mitigating risks to keep people safe.

People, relatives and staff felt the management team were approachable, open and transparent. Relatives said they had confidence in staff to perform the health task associated with the complex needs of people and knew when to seek advice and support from other medical professionals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported support 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

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 April 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the time since our last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.