Archived: Isle of Wight Care at Home Provider

Isle of Wight care at Home provider provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a personal care service to 27 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with a learning disability, physical care needs or memory loss due to progression of age. The agency was providing a service to people across the Isle of Wight.

The agency had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager had failed to notify CQC about some significant events that happened involving an allegation of abuse and police involvement. Office staff had taken all necessary action to protect people and reported the concerns to the local authority safeguarding team and police.

We received positive feedback from people about the service. All people who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke very highly of the staff.

People told us they felt safe and secure when receiving care. Staff received training in safeguarding adults. Staff knew how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns.

People’s risk assessments and those relating to their homes’ environment were detailed and helped reduce risks to people while maintaining their independence. Staff were responsive to people’s needs which were detailed in care plans. People told us they had been involved in care planning and care plans reflected people’s individual needs and choices.

People were cared for with kindness and compassion. People who used the service said their privacy and dignity were respected. People were supported to eat and drink when needed and staff contacted healthcare professionals when required. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes. There were sufficient numbers of care staff to maintain the schedule of visits. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervision and support.

People felt listened to and a complaints procedure was in place. The provider sought feedback from people through the use of a questionnaire. The results from the latest survey were predominately positive.

Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service people received. Office staff demonstrated strong values and a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service.

We identified a breach of Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. You can see what action we have taken in the full version of this report.

Is the service safe?

People told us they were very happy with the service they received. They said they had consistent care staff who knew what support they required. Staff were aware of people's rights to refuse care and stated they would respect this. Staff had completed safeguarding and other essential training to ensure they had the necessary skills to meet people's needs in a safe way. Risks to people's health and safety had been assessed and management plans were in place to reduce these risks. Systems were in place and used to ensure all financial transactions made on behalf of people were fully recorded. This all helped ensure people's needs would be safely met.

Is the service effective?

Staff were knowledgeable about people's care needs and how to meet them. Staff had received training to ensure they had the skills necessary to care for people. Where necessary, the service sought advice and specialist training from appropriate external professionals. Systems were in place to monitor the care people received to ensure if continued to meet their needs.

People told us they were happy with the way they were cared for. One person told us they were "very happy" and had "no concerns" about the way they were cared for.

Is the service caring?

People were supported by kind and attentive staff. They said they were treated with respect and dignity by the care staff. People told us the staff were very kind and helpful and they were happy with the service they received. Staff said they had time to meet people's identified needs. Records of care provided showed people had received care as detailed in their care plans.

Is the service responsive?

People and staff described occasions when people had been unwell when a care worker arrived. Staff had taken all necessary action to ensure the person received medical attention. The agency had arranged for other staff to cover the care workers next calls to enable them to remain with the person until the situation was resolved. People told us they could request changes to the times of care visits and these were changed to meet their needs. This showed the service could be flexible and responsive to people's changing and urgent needs.

Procedures were in place to manage unexpected events which could interrupt the smooth running of the service.

Is the service well-led?

People's views were sought and a monthly review was completed by keyworkers with people. This was submitted to the office and action taken if required. Staff views were also sought and staff meetings were regularly held. There were procedures in place to monitor the quality of service provided including formal reviews with people and audits of records returned to the office. Systems were in place to ensure accidents and incidents were managed correctly to safeguard people from repeat incidents.