Updated 10 August 2022
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out this inspection using phone and video calls. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service one weeks’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider available to support the inspection and to give time for them to send through the information required.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, office administrator and carers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records, and a range of medication record and staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures were reviewed.
For Inspections using Remote Technology add:
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video and phone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. We reviewed documents and made phone calls on 12 and 13 July 2022