Agincare Oxford

Updated 1 April 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 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 to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location.

A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed our last inspection report and an action plan, and we spoke to the local quality team who have been working with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people using the service and 3 relatives about their experience of the support and care provided. We reviewed a range of records. These included care plans for 9 people and multiple medicines records. We looked at recruitment checks for 3 staff members. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed, this included policies and procedures.

After the inspection

Following our visits to the office, we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, electronic monitoring data and quality assurance records off site. We reviewed care records remotely through the provider's secure portal and spoke to 8 members of staff to obtain their feedback.

Updated 1 April 2023

About the service

Agincare is a domiciliary care service providing the regulated activity of personal care. The service provides support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 46 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

The service also supports people who are discharged from hospital and require support with rehabilitation for an initial proposed period of six weeks. People receiving this rehabilitation care are referred to by the service as 'reablement care clients.' At the time of inspection 15 people out of 46 were receiving a reablement care package.

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

We received mostly positive feedback from people and relatives of those using the service. The service was meeting all requirements to ensure people had safe and effective care. Measures to manage any risks assessed were appropriately put in place.

People received medicines as prescribed, and staff knew how to maintain good infection control.

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 were supported to have a balanced diet and various professionals were regularly involved in people's care to ensure they received the right care and treatment. People received effective support from staff who were suitably trained and skilled.

People's care plans were personalised to reflect people's personal preferences and choices; however, some people felt their gender preference of care staff was not always sought. People knew how to complain, and complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.

People were supported by staff who demonstrated they were kind and compassionate. Staff knew people's needs well. There was enough staff. The service used regular agency staff who enrolled in the services induction training and received spot checks. Staff felt supported by the service and spoke positively about management.

People had support from staff who responded to any changes in needs. Referrals to external healthcare professionals were made in a timely manner.

People's views were considered to improve the service. A number of methods were used to monitor the quality of the service people received. The management team had plans around continuous improvements and improving the standards.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 25 October 2022) and there were breaches of regulations 9, 12, 13, 16, 17 18 and 20. We served a warning notice for Regulation 12 safe care and treatment. We followed up this warning notice on 5 January 2023 and found that they were no longer in breach of regulation 12. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 24 August 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. We had carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 24 August 2022. Breaches of legal requirements had been found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this comprehensive inspection to check whether they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.