Comfort Care At Home

Updated 26 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:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a home care agency. They provide care and support to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available on the day of inspection. Inspection activity started and ended on 22 May. We visited the office location on 22 May.

What we did before the inspection:

Before the inspection, we looked at information we held about the service including notifications they had made to us about important events. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection:

We spoke with the registered manager and director of the service. We reviewed three people’s care records, two staff files, training, recruitment and medicine records and other relevant documents relating to the service.

During the inspection, we spoke with two people and one relative asking for their feedback about the service delivery. We also spoke with two staff members working for the service.

After the inspection:

After our inspection, we contacted one healthcare professional asking for their feedback about the service delivery.

Updated 26 June 2019

About the service: Radfield Home Care Richmond, Kingston and Hounslow is a domiciliary care agency and registered for ‘personal care’. This service provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. At the time of this inspection six people were using the service.

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

People's experience of using this service:

Risks to people's health and safety were not sufficiently assessed but the provider took immediate action to address this to ensure they supported people safely. Care records lacked information related to people’s end of life wishes. The management team told us that from now on they would include this information as necessary.

Staff were aware of the provider’s policies and procedures to support people safely if they noticed them being at risk of harm or when incidents and accidents took place. There were no allegations of abuse or incidents and accidents having taken place since the service’s registration with the CQC. There were robust recruitment processes in place to ensure that staff had the right values required for the job. Staff were trained and had clear guidance for infection control

The staff team had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) principles which they applied in practice to support people in the decision-making process. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Systems were in place to optimise staff’s knowledge and skills in all areas required for their role. Staff took initiatives to prevent medicine errors taking place and to support people safely Healthcare professionals were involved and guided staff where people required additional support to meet their nutritional needs. Staff observed and addressed people’s changing health needs quickly as required. Information was available on the support people required to enhance their well-being. People’s care records were person-centred and individualised.

The feedback received about the service was exceptionally positive. People and their relatives praised staff for their dedication and caring nature. Staff were carefully selected and matched with people to ensure they shared the same interests and skills. People’s choices were continuously reviewed to ensure they had a say as to how they wanted to be supported. Continuity of care was an important aspect of the service. The management team ensured they introduced new staff to people and they provided the same staff to support people safely. People’s privacy was enhanced and they had help to continue living in their homes independently for as long as possible. Staff took initiatives to engage people in conversations which encouraged their social interaction.

People felt confident in raising their concerns should they have any. There were shared values, beliefs and rules within the organisation aiming to provide high quality services for people. The management team were dedicated and promoted kind behaviour in its employees that lead to high concern for the people they supported. The staff team took a proactive approach in educating the members of the community and supporting charity organisations which showed their focus on people’s well-being.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: This service was registered with us on 23 July 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected: This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.