Updated 14 September 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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one 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 an enablement agency. It provides personal care to people who live in their own home that require support to regain independence. The agency provides a six-week enablement service.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities. 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 not a registered manager. The manager in post was in the process of registering with CQC.
Notice of inspection
the inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 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 on 16 August 2023 and ended on 18 August 2023. We visited the office location on 16 August 2023 and made telephone calls to people who use the service and their relatives on 18 August 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and got feedback from 10 members of staff including the care managers, area manager and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and audits were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.