Archived: MiHomecare - Worthing

This is a summary of what people told us and what we found.

Is the service safe?

We found the service carried out the necessary checks before staff started work. There was a recruitment process in place to identify suitable care workers who were of good character.

Most people who used the service told us they felt safe and comfortable when they were with their care workers. People's relatives said their family members had a good relationship with their care workers. However some people we spoke with were concerned some care workers were not trained or prepared adequately to deliver the care required. We found the provider did not always have sufficient skilled and experienced staff to deliver people's care.

Staff received training in how to recognise and report suspicions of abuse. However we found examples of reports of allegations or suspicions of abuse which were not followed up by the service in a timely fashion.

We have asked the provider to tell us how they will make improvements and meet the requirements of the law in relation to staffing and safeguarding vulnerable adults from abuse.

Is the service effective?

Most people we spoke with were satisfied with the care and support they received. One said the service was 'excellent' and another said it was 'satisfactory'. Another person said they were 'very satisfied'.

However, one in five of the people we spoke with had concerns about their care and support or the way it was delivered. Three of the six care workers we spoke with told us of occasions where people did not receive effective and timely care and support.

We found people's care and support were based on assessments and care plans which were unclear and contained contradictory information. Records of care provided did not always demonstrate that the correct care had been delivered.

We have asked the provider to tell us how they will make improvements and meet the requirements of the law in relation to the care and welfare of people who use the service.

Is the service caring?

All the people we spoke with told us care and support were provided in a caring way. One said they had not come across a single member of staff who was not caring. Another said they could not fault their care workers.

Staff we spoke with were committed to delivering quality care and concerned where they felt the service was not performing adequately.

Is the service responsive?

Most people we spoke with told us the care they received was based on an understanding of their needs and how they preferred to have their needs met. They were satisfied with their care plan assessments and that care was delivered according to their plans. They were involved in reviews of their care plans.

However a number of people we spoke with found the service did not always listen to their preferences and had received care which was not responsive to their needs.

Is the service well-led?

The provider had systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service provided. However these were not effective in maintaining and improving the quality of service people received. Issues identified were not resolved and agreed actions were not followed up.

The service did not learn from complaints, incidents and accidents to improve the service people received.

We have asked the provider to tell us how they will make improvements and meet the requirements of the law in relation to assessing and monitoring the quality of service provided.

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulated activity at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a registered manager on our register at the time.

The registered manager had left shortly before our visit. At the time of our visit the service was being managed by a team leader with support from a regional project manager. The provider subsequently appointed an interim manager.

Staff told us that they provided a service that met individualised needs. We found that staff were well supported to carry out their role and that training was ongoing.

We found that regular monitoring of the quality of the service was taking place and that the service was very responsive to issues around care so that planned care was carried out in a timely way.

Staff told us that they provided a service that was tailored to individual needs. They told us how important it was to maintain the service at all times and that to do so they had to be very flexible. They told us that they worked as a team in order to cover absence and ensure there was no impact upon care provision.

We found that staff were well supported to undertake their roles and on going training was also provided to support service requirements.

We found that sufficient monitoring was in place to ensure that any breakdown in service provision was detected and addressed very quickly. This meant that planned care would not be missed.