Updated 29 June 2021
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission and they were also the proprietor of the service. This means that they 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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Before our arrival at the provider’s office, we spoke with the registered manager about the infection prevention and control arrangements at the premises in line with COVID-19 safety protocols.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we held about the service, for example any notifications the provider is required by law to send to us. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return (PIR) 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
However, we received a completed PIR from the provider after the inspection visit and took this into account in making our judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We commenced our inspection on 29 April 2021 with a visit to the service and concluded on 20 May 2021 via a remotely conducted feedback session with the registered manager. We spoke with the registered manager and a domiciliary care consultant who had supported the registered manager to establish the service.
We reviewed a range of records, which included the care records for both people using the service. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including ‘spot check’ visits reports and policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with both people who used the service and two members of the care staff. We also spoke with an individual who was both an advocate for autistic people and a trainer, with experience of providing training to the service.