About the service:Austen Allen Homecare, Gravesham, is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care for people who require support in their own home. The Gravesham office is one of two locations the provider has registered with CQC.
CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’ and help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, the service was supporting 75 people, all of whom received some element of personal care. Austen Allen Homecare provide care services mainly to people living in the Gravesham and surrounding areas.
Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions, Safe and Well-led, to at least Good. We found that the provider had undertaken actions in their action plan.
People’s experience of using this service:
• People told us they felt safe with staff. People when asked if they felt safe said, “Very”, “Absolutely” and “Without a shadow of a doubt, absolutely.”
• People had good relationships with staff, who were knowledgeable of their physical and emotional needs, as well as likes, dislikes and interests. Staff were responsive to changes in people's health needs. If needed, they sought advice from relevant professionals.
• People felt included in planning their care. People’s rights and their dignity and privacy were respected.
• People were supported to live the lifestyle of their choice. People told us they were listened to by the management of the service. One person said, “Staff regularly check to see if anything needs to be changed.”
• People could involve relatives and others who were important to them when they chose the care they wanted.
• People received a person-centred service that met their needs and helped them to achieve their goals and ambitions. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible. One relative told us, “Part of the care plan is to help my relative maintain independence and the staff are following that.”
• People were fully involved in their care planning and received information in a way that they understood. The electronic care plans now being used were consistently reviewed and updated. Care planning informed staff what people could do independently and what staff needed to do to support people.
• Staff supported people to maintain a balanced diet and monitor their nutritional health. People had access to GP’s and their health and wellbeing was supported by prompt referrals and access to medical care if they became unwell.
• Medicines were stored and managed safely. There were policies and procedures in place for the safe administration of medicines. Staff followed these policies and had been trained to administer medicines safely.
• People were protected from the spread of infection.
• People felt comfortable raising any complaints with staff and the registered manager.
• People were asked for feedback about the service they received.
• People found the registered manager approachable and supportive.
• The registered manager recruited staff with relevant experience and the right attitude to work with people. New staff were given an induction and on-going training.
• Staff were deployed in a planned way, with the correct training, skills and experience to meet people’s needs.
• The registered manager made sure they monitored the service in various ways to ensure they continued to provide a good quality service that maintained people’s safety.
• The registered manager and staff were working with a clear vision for the service.
Rating at last inspection: This service was rated, ‘Requires Improvement’ at the last inspection on 7 and 12 February 2018.
At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and the service met the characteristics of Good in all domains.
Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection to follow up on the issues raised at the last inspection.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk