Updated 10 April 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out 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 and flats.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The nominated individual had applied for registration as the manager. 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that somebody would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 March 2020 and ended on 13 March 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at the information we held about the service. 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 three people who used the service and one person's relative about their experience of the care provided. We met with the care coordinator and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, quality assurance, complaints, safeguarding, policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with six staff who were or had recently worked for this service by telephone to find out their views on the service.