Oxford Private Care

Updated 22 May 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:

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and two Experts 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’s area of expertise was old people and dementia care.

Service and service type:

Oxford Private Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Oxford and the surrounding areas. It also provides a live-in service for people with more complex needs. It provides a service to younger adults and older adults some living with dementia and physical disability. Not everyone using Oxford Private Care receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service had 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. The registered managers were also the provider and directors of the service.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a big service and the registered managers are often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection activity started on 09 April 2019 and ended on 10 April 2019. We visited the office location on 10 April 2019 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We also reviewed the provider’s previous inspection report. We received feedback from three social and health care professionals who regularly had dealings with service and/or visited people who received care from the service. We also reviewed the provider’s previous inspection report.

We spoke with 18 people and 11 relatives. We looked at six people’s care records and medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with the registered manager, the care manager, the assistant manager and four care staff. We received written feedback from two care staff members. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service. These included six staff files, quality assurance audits, incident reports, complaints and compliments. In addition, we reviewed feedback from people who had used the service and their relatives.

Updated 22 May 2019

About the service:

Oxford Private Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Oxford and the surrounding areas. It also provides a live-in service for people with more complex needs. The service was providing personal care to 139 people.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider demonstrated they had made significant improvements since our last inspection. We found the service had improved and met the characteristics of an Outstanding service in well-led domain and a Good service in safe, effective, caring and responsive.

The service was very well-led which resulted in provision of outstanding care. The service had a clear management and staffing structure in place. Office staff and care staff worked well as a team. Staff aimed to provide a high quality of service and they had a sense of pride working at the service.

The service had a track record of being an excellent role model for other services. The provider worked in partnership with other health and social care bodies to build seamless experiences for people based on good practice and people’s informed preferences. It was clear other providers recognised the contribution the provider made to the health sector in ensuring people received high quality care. The management team and staff strove for excellence through consultation, research and reflective practice. The provider was actively involved in several coproduction projects aimed at improving people’s quality of care.

The leadership, governance and culture drove high-quality, person-centre care. The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service that included the use of technology. Where the provider identified an area for improvement prompt action was taken to address it. Actions from the audits were used to further develop the service. The provider monitored service delivery on ongoing basis and effectively used feedback from people, relatives and staff to improve the systems, practices and people's experiences.

The provider had an excellent workplace culture for staff. Staff were highly valued by the provider and management team. Staff contributions were highly appreciated and celebrated. Staff told us they were proud to work at the service and called it a family business. Staff told us they felt part of the family and spoke very highly about the support they received and how they were encouraged to be fully involved in the development of the service.

We received positive feedback from all people and relatives. The feedback reflected staff were very kind, caring and committed. People complimented the continuity of care provided by regular staff which contributed to building of meaningful relationships. Staff exceeded in recognising what was important to people and ensured individually tailored approach that met people's personal needs, wishes and preferences was delivered. There was evidence the staff often went 'the extra mile' to meet people's needs.

People were supported by caring staff that knew them well and understood how to maximise their potential. People were supported to maintain relationships with their families and friends and the value of relationships was central to the success of the service. People's independence was promoted and they received support to achieve their goals and reduce social isolation.

Oxford Private Care ensured people received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. People told us they felt safe receiving care from the service. Staff understood their responsibilities to identify and report any concerns. The provider had safe recruitment and selection processes in place.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain good health and to meet their nutritional needs.

Rating at last inspection:

At our last inspection we rated the service good. Our last report was published on 8 November 2016.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

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