Background to this inspection
Updated
2 November 2022
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
This inspection was undertaken by an 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 in the community in and around Oxford.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. 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 manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 13 September 2022 and ended on 16 September 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 13 September 2022.
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 used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and the training manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, a sample of medication records, four staff recruitment files and records relating to the management of the service.
We spoke with three people using the service and seven relatives of people to gain their feedback on the service and the care they received.
After the inspection
We contacted four care staff to gain their feedback on the service. We also contacted the local authority to obtain their views on the service.
Updated
2 November 2022
About the service
Oasis Private Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service provides support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people using the service and receiving support with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People, and their relatives were aware of who the registered manager was and found the office team approachable, supportive and that communication was good. Most staff told us the registered manager was supportive when approached. However, one staff member felt they were bullied and intimidated at work.
The service did not always notify CQC about reportable events. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
People told us staff were always punctual and that they had not experienced any missed visits. Some staff told us short travel times meant they were sometimes late. Systems to monitor late or missed visits were not always effective or accurate.
Systems to monitor the quality of the service were in place. Action plans were used to improve the service. Outside consultants were used to audit processes and procedures and we saw the registered manager used the results to drive improvements. However, these systems did not identify our concerns relating to notifications.
People were kept safe from abuse and harm, and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns. Risk assessments identified how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm. Staff we spoke with understood the risks to people and delivered safe care in accordance with people's support plans and knew how to seek guidance if needed. Some staff told us there were not always enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs.
People felt they were treated with kindness and spoke very positively about staff. Staff recruitment checks including criminal checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service were carried out to ensure people were protected from being supported by unsuitable staff.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about missed visits, poor communication and a failure to report notable events to CQC. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. This was a planned focused inspection of the service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have identified a breach in relation to Regulation 18 Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (Good Governance) at this inspection.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oasis Private Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.