Archived: Taylor Care HQ

Updated 6 July 2018

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 was 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 was a comprehensive inspection.

This inspection took place on 22 May 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection, so that the manager could contact people being supported and ask if they would be willing to provide us with feedback about their support. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care 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. The expert by experience contacted people who received support from the service and relatives by telephone, to gain feedback about the care provided.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications we had received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. As part of the inspection we contacted nine community health and social care professionals who were involved with the service for their comments, including community nurses and social workers. We also contacted Lancashire County Council contracts team and Healthwatch Blackburn for feedback about the service.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who received support from the service, five relatives and one person’s Court Appointed Deputy. We also spoke with one care assistant, two senior care assistants and the provider, who was also the owner. We reviewed the care records of two people who received support from the service. In addition, we looked at service records including staff recruitment, supervision and training records, policies and procedures, complaints and compliments records and audits of quality and safety.

Updated 6 July 2018

Taylor Care HQ is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people, younger adults, people with a physical disability or sensory impairment and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to 18 people.

At our last inspection, we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People received safe care. We found that staff had been recruited safely. The staff we spoke with were aware of how to safeguard adults at risk. There were safe processes and practices in place for the management and administration of medicines.

People supported and their relatives told us staff visited them on time and stayed as long as they should. They were happy with the staff who supported them and told us they were supported by staff they knew.

Staff received an effective induction and appropriate training. People supported and their relatives felt that staff had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

People received appropriate support with eating, drinking and their healthcare needs. Referrals were made to community health and social care professionals when appropriate, to meet people’s needs and manage their risks.

People told us staff respected their right to privacy and dignity. They told us staff took their time when providing support and encouraged them to be as independent as possible.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way; the policies and systems at the service supported this practice. Where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care, the service had taken appropriate action in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We saw evidence that people received care that reflected their needs, risks and preferences. People told us they had been involved in discussions about their care and we found that where appropriate, their relatives or representatives had been consulted.

People being supported and their relatives told us they were happy with how the service was being managed. They found the manager and staff approachable and helpful.

The manager sought regular feedback from people being supported and their relatives and we noted that a high level of satisfaction had been expressed about all areas of the service.

Audits and checks of the service were completed regularly. We found the checks completed were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of quality and safety were maintained at the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.