Background to this inspection
Updated
27 July 2021
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 had two managers 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 a short period 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 in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 27 May 2021 and ended on 8 June 2021. We visited the office location on 27 May 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We requested feedback form the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider did not complete the Provider Information Return as it was not required due to the changes in how CQC gathered information from providers in the period of COVID-19 pandemic. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account in making our judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the two registered managers and the operations manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medicines 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.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with seven people using the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with two staff members providing care to people. We looked at business contingency plans, additional staff records, and care plans following provider’s review. We received feedback from two professionals who regularly visit the service.
Updated
27 July 2021
About the service
Greenway Homecare Limited is a home care agency providing personal care to people who live in their own houses and flats. At the time of the inspection, the agency supported 25 people with physical disabilities, some of whom also lived with dementia.
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 and what we found
People received safe care meeting their needs which was provided by small and consistent staff team. People had their support visits as planned and felt in control of their own care. One person told us, “They were very good in responding and I would not manage without help. They would listen and not leave me (without the required support).”
The provider regularly sought people’s feedback and supported people to address any changing needs they might had had by accessing other services. A professional working with the service said, “[The agency] will also deal with a lot of stuff- they will call doctors, nurses, mental health specialists. They are very proactive. I think they are very good company, would use them for my own family if I needed.”
People received safe support with their medicines where needed and were protected from the risk of spread of infections including COVID-19 as well as any safeguarding risks. Staff supported people to minimise the overall impact of the pandemic on their health and emotional wellbeing.
People told us staff were caring, kind and respectful. One person said, “They are lovely, they are diamonds. They just do it. They are so nice.” Another person told us, “They are splendid, magnificent, not only in care but also personality, very cheery every day, marvellous.”
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.
Staff told us they felt supported by the provider and had ongoing access to the training and management advice they needed to provide people with high quality care. The management team were very involved in day to day care provision and knew people well.
The registered managers were fully aware of their legal responsibilities and maintained transparent and open communication with CQC and other partners such as community nursing teams or social services. The registered managers had a good oversight of the service and we saw evidence of action taken to address identified improvement needs. For example, people’s care plans were being updated to a new, more person-centred and robust format.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The provider of this service changed and was registered with us on 12/06/2019 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, published on 29 August 2018.
Why we inspected
This inspection was based on the date of the changes to the registered provider of this service.
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.