We carried out an inspection of Willowbrook Homecare on 26, 27 and 28 April 2016. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of our intention to carry out the inspection. This was because the location is a community based service and we needed to be sure the registered manager was available to help us with the inspection.Willowbrook Homecare is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The agency provides a service for people residing in Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn and Rossendale. The agency also provided extra care support to people living at a housing scheme based in Whitworth. The agency’s office is located in the centre of Oswaldtwistle. At the time of the inspection 187 people were using the service.
The service was managed by 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.
We last inspected this service on 30 April 2013 and found it was meeting the regulations applicable at the time.
During the inspection, we found there was a breach of one regulation relating to the recruitment of new staff. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report. We also made a recommendation in respect of the implementation of the Care Certificate for staff new to a social care setting.
All people told us they felt safe when receiving care from the service. Staff had a good knowledge of how to identify abuse and the action to take if abuse was suspected. We found care was planned and delivered to ensure people were protected against avoidable harm.
People received their medicines safely and were supported to eat and drink in accordance with their care plan. Staff liaised closely with healthcare professionals to ensure people’s healthcare needs were monitored.
There were sufficient staff to cover the care and support needs of people using the service. People told us staff usually arrived on time and did not cut their visits short. Staff were provided with appropriate on-going training and were well supported by the supervisors and the management team. However, the provider had not always operated a robust recruitment procedure and we found some information was missing from two staff members’ records.
Whilst new staff were provided with induction training, which included the provider’s mandatory training and shadowing more experienced staff, we found the Care Certificate had not been implemented. We therefore recommended arrangements were made to introduce the qualification to ensure staff are assessed using nationally recognised standards.
People received safe care and support which reflected their individual preferences, likes and dislikes and promoted their independence. People told us the staff were caring and they respected their rights to privacy, dignity and independence.
People were involved in the development and review of their care plans. This meant people were able to influence the delivery of their care and staff had up to date information about people’s needs and wishes.
Staff understood the relevant requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how it applied to people in their care. People's consent was sought before care was given and they made choices and decisions about how this was carried out.
The complaints procedure provided information on the action to take if a person wished to raise any concerns. People were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to.
There was a quality monitoring system in place. The registered person undertook regular audits and spot checks were carried out to observe how the staff delivered care to people. People were asked for their views and feedback was acted upon to maintain or improve the service provided.