Archived: Thames Homecare Service Ltd

Updated 19 March 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We reviewed the information we had received about Thames Homecare Services Ltd and used this to plan the inspection. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice before we visited the service because we needed to be sure that managers were available on site and we could access information about the service. The inspection was carried out by one inspector on 7January 2015.

During the inspection we reviewed seven people’s care records. We read six staff records. We interviewed the registered manager and two other members of the management team. Records on staff training and the operation of the service were reviewed. During the inspection we spoke to a local authority commissioner.

After the inspection we spoke to two people and four relatives about the service. We also asked five members of staff and three social workers for their views.

Updated 19 March 2015

This announced inspection took place on 7 January 2015. Thames Homecare Service Ltd registered with the CQC in June 2014. The provider had previously operated the same service under the name of Thames Homecare Ltd. Our last inspection of Thames Homecare Ltd took place in July 2013. The service met the regulations inspected at that time.

Thames Homecare Service Ltd provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 106 people were using the service, most of whom had been referred to it by a local authority. Many of these people have used the service for over a year. The service has a registered manager who has been in post since the service registered with CQC under its previous name. 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 service was safe. People told us they received their support visits consistently and always received the care they needed. Risks to people were assessed and monitored to ensure action was taken to avoid accidents and the deterioration of people’s health. The service had recruited a sufficient number of suitably qualified staff to meet people’s needs. Recruitment practice was robust and protected people from the risk of receiving support from staff who were unsuitable. People received the support they required with their medicines.

People told us they received care from competent staff who had the skills and knowledge to carry out their work role. Many of the staff employed by the service were experienced and had worked there for over one year and prior to the change of name. Records confirmed that staff received appropriate training and support to carry out their duties and meet people’s needs effectively. The service supported people to have appropriate food and drink and to receive the healthcare they needed to keep as well as possible.

People described the staff who supported them as caring and respectful. People were able to make choices about how they were cared for and said the staff who supported them knew them well. The service had identified people’s needs and preferences in order to plan and deliver their care. People said the service met their needs and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were asked for their views of the service and said they knew how to make a complaint about the service if they needed to.

A local authority commissioner and people who use the service told us they considered the service to be well managed. Staff told us the service was open to their ideas and we saw that changes were made to improve the service. The service made regular ‘spot checks’ on the care that people received to ensure the quality of the service.