Agility Care

Updated 24 August 2023

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.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This 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.

Agility Care is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Agility Care is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 26 July 2023 and ended on 10 August 2023. We visited the location’s service on 2 August 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals 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 used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 6 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 4 members of staff including the registered manager and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. These included 2 people’s support plans and 2 people’s medicines records. We looked at 2 staff records and 1 agency profile, in relation to recruitment and training. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 24 August 2023

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

Agility Care is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 5 people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection 4 people were living in the service.

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

Right Support: People living at Agility Care were kept safe. Care plans and risks assessments were effective in keeping people safe and free from harm. We have made a recommendation around the provider's management of analysing accidents and incidents. The home met people’s individual needs and promoted people’s independence as much as possible, such as accessing the local community, shopping, household chores and visits to and from family and friends. 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 received care from staff who were patient, kind and passionate about their roles and determined to make a difference to people’s daily lives. Staff knew how to safeguard people and how to recognise and report potential abuse. People had their own care plans providing detailed guidance on how they wished to be supported. People were supported to make choices about what to eat and drink and were involved with the weekly menu planning.

Right Culture: People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely, were trained to carry out their roles effectively and who understood people’s individual care and support needs. Quality assurance audits were undertaken to monitor the quality of the service.

People and relatives were given the opportunity to provide feedback on how the service could be improved and things which were working well or not so well to enable the registered manager to make improvements where possible. Staff told us they felt supported in their roles and were able to speak up freely and openly.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 29 March 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider considered current best practice guidance for the safe recruitment of staff. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on our recommendation and recruitment processes had improved.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agility Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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