Finch Support Services Ltd

Updated 29 October 2022

The inspection

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

A single inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from local authorities who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people using the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. These included four people’s care records, staff files in relation to recruitment and training and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including the quality monitoring systems and audits.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 29 October 2022

About the service

Finch Support Services provides personal care to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection 23 people were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There were safeguarding adults’ procedures in place and the registered manager and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. Robust recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff to meet people’s care and support needs. People received support from staff, where required, to take their medicines safely. Staff had received training on COVID 19 and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The service had business continuity and contingency plans in place that made provisions for safe care in the event of an emergency.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service and care plans were in place to ensure staff could support them safely. Staff received training and support relevant to people’s needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People told us they were well treated and supported, their privacy and dignity was respected and they had been consulted about their care needs. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.

There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of service that people received. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support from the registered manager. The registered manager took people and their relatives views into account through telephone monitoring calls and their feedback was used to improve the service. The registered manager and staff worked with health care providers to plan and deliver an effective service.

The last rating for this service was good (published 24 October 2017).

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected. This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.