Dobix Healthcare Ltd

Updated 4 November 2022

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses. This service also provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small.

Inspection activity started on 13 October 2022 and ended on 19 October 2022. We visited the location’s office on 13 October 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We were unable to communicate with people being supported by Dobix Healthcare ltd. However, we spoke to two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, service manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 4 November 2022

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Dobix Healthcare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. They provide personal care to people living in their own homes and within a supported living setting. 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 the inspection two people were receiving personal care.

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

Right Support:

Medicine management required improvement. Records were not consistently completed to evidence people received medicines as prescribed.

Risk assessments and care plans were person centred. However, additional information was required to ensure all aspects of a person’s life and needs was documented to ensure staff had all the information to support people safely.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited safely and completed the relevant training required.

People were supported to access activities of interest to them. People attended day services, discos’, shops, trips and outings.

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.

Right Care:

People were supported by staff who knew them well and understood their needs. Staff understood and followed safeguarding procedures to protect people from risk of abuse.

Staff promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff were kind and caring towards people.

People were supported with their healthcare needs. Staff supported people to access doctors, dentists and other health professionals as needed.

Care plans included people’s likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests and any cultural or religious needs. People and their relatives were involved in care planning and care plans were signed by the person or their representative.

People were supported with their communication. People’s communication needs were documented to support staff to understand and communicate effectively with people. The registered manager ensured information was in a format people could understand.

Right Culture:

Oversight of service to assess, monitor and improve the service required improvement. Systems and processes to ensure records were kept up to date and relevant were not always effective. The manager implemented new audits immediately after the inspection.

Staff felt supported within their roles and the registered manager worked directly with people to ensure they lead by example. The registered and staff were dedicated to achieving best outcomes for people. The provider had a clear vision for the service

The registered manager was open and transparent. Staff felt able to raise any concerns and felt assured any issues would be dealt with appropriately and quickly.

People, relatives, staff and professionals were able to feedback on the service via reviews, correspondence and annual surveys.

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 29 April 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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