Updated 26 September 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector. Following the inspection, an Expert by Experience contacted people using the service for their feedback. 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 to people living in their own homes.
The service manager was registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons are legally responsible for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on14 August 2019 and ended on 20 August 2019. We visited the office location on14 August 2019.
What we did before the inspection
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 looked at information we hold about the service such as notifications of events and registration information. We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager for the service and a deputy manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and related documentation. We looked at records for five members of staff in relation to recruitment, training, supervision and appraisal. We reviewed policies and procedures and other records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
An Expert by Experience spoke with three people, four relatives, an advocate and a representative of a person using the service. We spoke with four members of care staff. We contacted three healthcare professionals involved with people using the service and heard back from one of them.