Background to this inspection
Updated
25 December 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 team consisted of one 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and nursing care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service has 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. At the time of this inspection one of the registered managers were on leave.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or one of the registered managers would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 19 November 2021 and ended on 26 November 2021. We visited the office location on 22 November 2021 and 25 November 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff and the provider, registered manager, finance director, clinical nurse managers and business support officer.
We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at eight 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 looked at training data and quality assurance records. We received further information from eight staff we contacted via email.
Updated
25 December 2021
About the service
Health and Social Care Centre are a domiciliary care service providing personal and nursing care to people living in their own houses or flats. The service supported 47 people aged 18 months to 65 and over at the time of the inspection.
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
Recruitment procedures were sufficient to ensure suitable staff were employed. Some people told us there were some gaps in staffing levels. Staffing levels had been addressed and ongoing recruitment underway.
People told us they felt safe when receiving care, some people were supported to meet their nutritional and hydration needs by staff who were following advice given by dieticians. Medicines were safely managed, and staff contacted healthcare professionals when required. Infection control measures were in place and staff told us they had sufficient personal protective equipment to protect themselves and people from infection.
Staff were caring and spoke very fondly of the people they supported. They knew people well and spoke respectfully about them. People and their relatives were listened to and their choices were respected. Where people did not use words to communicate, care records included information about how they expressed their needs, choices and preferences.
People told us they had been involved in care planning, care plans reflected people's individual needs and choices. People's risk assessments and risks relating to their home environment were detailed and helped reduce risks to people while maintaining their independence. Staff were responsive to people's needs.
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.
People had regular contact from the registered manager, clinical nurse managers who undertook some care calls and completed assessments and initial visits for new people. People and staff were confident the registered manager would listen to them and take any necessary action should the need arise.
The provider had good oversight of the service. Systems of daily, weekly and monthly meetings and quality assurance checks and audits were in place.
A second registered manager was recruited to the service this was to enable a registered manager to work in the community and the other in the office when needed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection.
This service was registered with us on 11 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration with CQC.
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.