Domiciliary Care - 12 Erme Court is known as 'Simply Caring' and provides personal care and support to people who live in their own homes. The service operates from an office based in Ivybridge, Devon.The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The inspection was undertaken over a four day period, 27 May, 1, 2 and 7 June 2016 and included visits to the office, staff interviews and visits to people in their own home. At the time of this inspection 45 people were using the service, of which 36 were receiving support with their personal care needs. Our last inspection took place in May 2014 when it met the regulations we looked at.
People, their relatives and staff told us the service was well-led. One person said, “I have to tell you, I find them absolutely marvelous. Their communication with us is excellent.” The registered manager and providers had a clear vision of their aims and objectives for the service and how they wished the service to support people. The registered manager said, “We don’t just want to care for people, we want to improve their quality of life.”
People told us they felt safe with the staff when receiving care. They said they have a regular staff team whom they have come to know well: people described the staff as ‘friends’. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and knew how to recognise signs of potential abuse. They understood how to report any concerns in line with the service’s safeguarding policy.
Risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed and regularly reviewed. These assessments included information about how to minimise the chance of harm occurring to people and staff. The service supported some people to take their medicines. The care plans provided information about each person’s medicines and why they were prescribed. People told us the staff supported them safely and they received their medicines as prescribed.
The service employed sufficient numbers of safely recruited and well trained staff to meet people’s needs. People told us they had never had a missed call, and if the staff were going to be late they always received a phone call to notify them. The providers and registered manager reviewed staff performance through observation, spot checks and supervisions.
People and their relatives were very positive about the way staff supported them. Each person we spoke with told us their care staff were kind and compassionate. One person said, “I’ve had the same girls for years, they’re all very good and very friendly”. People told us staff do ‘little extras’ for them, such as posting letters or bringing milk. One person said, “They are so kind, they bring things from the village for me, they help in any way they can.” A relative told us, “Simply Caring provided compassionate, reliable daily care and support. Without Simply Caring I do not believe he, or we, as a family would have managed the care he so wanted Mum to receive.”
Staff spoke about people with affection. One staff member said, “I love helping people. I love the feeling of a job well done” and another said, “It’s a really good job, I love it.” People told us they were treated with respect and kindness and staff respected their dignity. The registered manager said the service cared for and supported people to remain at home through illness and at the end of their lives. Staff received end of life care training and they told us they were proud to be able to continue to care for people at this time. One member of staff said, “It’s a real privilege to care for someone at the end of their life”.
Care plans were developed with each person and people told us they had received a copy. These plans described the support the person needed to manage their day to day needs. Staff knew people well and were able to tell us how they supported people. Staff recorded the care they provided at each visit and we saw these records were detailed and clearly written. One person told us, “They help me in the way I want. Nothing is too much trouble for them. I’m very pleased.” People told us a senior member of staff and the registered manager visited regularly to review and discuss their care needs.
The service was flexible and responsive to changes in people’s needs. One person told us the service had provided extra visits while their family was away. One relative told us, “They were always flexible and were able to provide additional support at very short notice. If it wasn’t Simply Caring my parents would never have sustained such a level of independence for so long. They went above and beyond.”
Regular staff meetings enabled staff to discuss ideas about improving the service as well having a theme topic each month such as safeguarding people from abuse. Staff told us the registered manager and providers were very approachable and were always available. Comments included “I can pop in to the office at any time for a chat” and, “it’s a unique company and a unique team. We all get on so well”.
People and their relatives felt able to raise concerns or make a complaint if something was not right. They were confident their concerns would be taken seriously. The service had received two complaints in January 2016. These were investigated by the registered manager in line with the service’s policy. The outcome of the investigations were recorded and discussed at the following month’s staff meeting. Records showed the complaints were resolved to the complainants’ satisfaction.
Audits were carried out to monitor the quality of the service. Unannounced checks to observe staff’s competency and interaction with people were carried out on a regular basis. The service sought regular feedback from people who used the service. The registered manager had sent questionnaires people receiving a service in October 2015 and the feedback from these questionnaires showed people were very satisfied with the care and support they received. This was reflected in the feedback we received from people, staff and healthcare professionals to the questionnaires we sent prior to this inspection.