Updated 18 June 2022
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector supported by two Experts 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 homes.
The service did not have a registered manager in place as the previous registered manager had resigned just before the inspection. The provider had recruited another manager who was due to commence within a month of the inspection visit. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted due to concerns received about alleged poor care to some people and people receiving short care calls. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service five days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the regional manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also gave time for the regional manager to send us inspection information, so we did not have to spend an extended amount of time in the office of the service.
Inspection activity started on 11 May and ended on 12 May 2022. We visited the office location on 12 May 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service and we sought feedback from the local authority. The provider sent us a provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection we spoke with one person who used the service about their experience of the care provided, and 16 relatives. We also spoke with three care staff members, the regional manager and the assistant to the regional manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found, which was sent to us.