Broadfield Care Services Limited

Updated 7 February 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 7 and 8 December 2017and we gave the provider 48 hours’ notice, as we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to participate in the inspection. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care 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. The expert by experience contacted people who received support from the service or their relatives by telephone, to gain feedback about the care provided.

We did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we usually require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including safeguarding information and statutory notifications received from the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We also reviewed previous inspection reports.

As part of the inspection we contacted four community social care agencies who were involved with the service for feedback about the care provided, including the district nurse and occupational therapy teams. We also contacted the Quality and Contracting Unit at Lancashire County Council and Healthwatch Lancashire for feedback. Healthwatch Lancashire is an independent organisation which focuses on the public’s experiences of health and social care in Lancashire.

As part of the inspection we spoke on the telephone with five people who received support from the service and seven relatives. We also visited one person at home. We spoke with three care staff, two senior care staff, the registered manager, the training manager and the nominated individual for the service who was also the general manager. In addition, we reviewed the care records of four people receiving support from the service. We looked at service records including staff recruitment, supervision and training records, policies and procedures, complaints and compliments records and records of checks that had been completed to monitor the quality of the service being delivered. We also looked at the results of the most recent satisfaction surveys completed by people being supported by the service and staff.

Updated 7 February 2018

We carried out an inspection of Broadfield Care Services Limited on 7 and 8 December 2017. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice to ensure that the registered manager would be available when we visited.

Broadfield Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to people with a physical disability, sensory impairment, mental ill health, younger adults, older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to 73 people.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager at the service who had been registered with the Commission since October 2010. 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.

At the last inspection on 17 November 2016, we found a breach of our regulations relating to the submission of statutory notifications and asked the provider to make improvements. During this inspection we found that the provider was meeting all regulations. We have made a recommendation about the management of people’s medicines.

We found that the processes in place at the service for ordering people’s medicines, did not reflect current guidance. The registered manager told us they would take action to address this. Staff members’ competence to administer medicines safely was assessed regularly. People told us they received their medicines when they should.

The people we spoke with told us staff arrived on time and stayed for the full duration of the visit. No-one we spoke with had experienced any missed visits.

People told us they received safe care. Staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard adults at risk and were aware of the appropriate action to take if abusive practice was taking place.

Records showed that staff had been recruited safely and had received an appropriate induction. They received regular supervision and their practice was observed to ensure they were providing safe care. Staff told us they felt well supported by the senior care staff and the management team.

People were supported with their nutrition, hydration and healthcare needs and were referred to community healthcare professionals when appropriate.

People were happy with the care and support they received from the service. They told us their care needs were discussed with them and they were involved in decisions about their care.

People liked the staff who supported them and told us they were caring. They told us staff respected their right to privacy and dignity when providing care and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. We found evidence that people’s confidential information was protected.

We found that people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff understood the main principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They sought people’s consent before providing support and supported people to make everyday decisions about their care. Where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care, their relatives had been consulted.

People knew who to contact if they had any concerns or if they wanted to make a complaint. We saw evidence that complaints had been investigated and responded to appropriately.

People were asked to give feedback about the service they received during regular reviews and in satisfaction surveys. We reviewed the most recent surveys and found that most people had reported a high level of satisfaction with all aspects of the service.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with how the service was being managed. They found the staff and registered manager approachable and helpful.

We saw evidence that regular audits were completed and found that these checks were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of care and safety were maintained.