Archived: Twelve Trees Homecare Limited

Updated 7 December 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 was planned to check 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.

This inspection took place on 9 and 11 November 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides we needed to be sure that someone would be in when we visited people in their own home. We also needed to ensure the manager was available at the office for us to speak with her. The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from a number of sources. We also looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the Care Quality Commission by the manager.

We did not ask the provider to send us a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

At the office we spoke with the provider and the manager, the assistant manager, a senior co-ordinator, two senior support workers and four home support staff who worked with people who used the service in the community. We telephoned ten people who used the service and five relatives/carers.

We looked at documentation relating to six people who used the service, staff and the management of the service. This took place in the office. The manager and people we spoke with told us the care plans were also stored in people’s home. These were copies of the files held at the office.

Updated 7 December 2015

The inspection took place on 9 and 11 November 2015 with the provider being given short notice of the visit to the office in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. The service was previously inspected on 5 February 2014, when no breaches of legal requirements were identified.

Twelve Trees Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care service. They are registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting people with a variety of care needs including older people, people living with dementia and younger people with a disability. Care and support was co-ordinated from the services office which is based on the outskirts of Sheffield at Nether Edge.

There is a manager which manages the day to day operations of the service. The manager is currently in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

At the time of our inspection there were approximately 80 people using the service. We spoke on the telephone with 14 people who used the service and their relatives. We asked people about their experiences of using the agency. People we spoke with told us they were entirely happy with the service provided.

People told us they felt safe in their own homes and staff were available to offer support when needed to help them maintain their independence. One person told us, “The staff are very good. They pop in to make sure I am safe; sometimes they will stay for a chat which is nice.” A relative we spoke with said, “My relative gets on well with most of the carers but some more than others. Staff know to contact me at any time if there is a problem.”

People’s needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and they told us they had been involved in formulating and updating their care plans. We found the information contained in the care records we sampled was individualised and clearly identified people’s needs and preferences, as well as any risks associated with their care and the environment they lived in.

We found people received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people’s needs were quickly identified and their care package amended to meet their changing circumstances. Where people needed assistance taking their medication this was administered in a timely way by staff who had been trained to carry out this role.

We found the service employed enough staff with the right skills and competencies to meet the needs of the people being supported. This included home support staff who visited people on a regular basis. People who used the service raised no concerns about how the service was staffed. Most people we spoke with confirmed they had the same group of staff most of the time.

People were able to raise any concerns they may have had. We saw the service user guide included ‘how to make a complaint.’ This was written in a suitable format for people who used the service. One person said, “No complaints, the carers always see if there is anything I need doing and I would recommend them to anyone.”

People were encouraged to give their views about the quality of the care provided to help drive up standards. Quality monitoring systems were in place and the manager had overall responsibility to ensure lessons were learned and action was taken to continuously improve the service.