Updated 21 August 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. 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 ASC inspector and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people, their relatives and staff. 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, a recently appointed manager had applied to be registered with the CQC. Until there is a manager registered with us the provider continues to be legally responsible for how the service is run; and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 3 July 2019 and ended on 8 July 2019. We visited the office location on 3 July 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the manager and area manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring and complaints and compliments.
After the inspection
We requested further information from the registered manager related to the service. This was provided promptly.