Background to this inspection
Updated
8 May 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
This inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.
Service and service type:
Westminster Homecare (Wandsworth) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection:
Our first day of inspection was announced. We told the service two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be in.
Inspection activity started on 28 February 2019 and ended on 21 March 2019. We visited the office location on the first day to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We then phoned people using the service and their relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided.
What we did:
We spoke with 11 people using the service and three relatives. Written feedback was received from one care professional following our visit.
We spoke with the operational manager, the operational support manager, registered manager and five staff members. We looked at five people’s care records, four staff files and other records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
8 May 2019
About the service:
Westminster Homecare (Wandsworth) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community in the London Boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth. At the time of our inspection approximately 100 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ Most people were happy with the care they received and said it met their needs. They said they had support from a consistent group of care staff who knew them.
¿ People and their relatives said staff were polite, kind and caring towards them. Staff respected people’s dignity and privacy. They listened to people and supported their independence where possible.
¿ People were kept safe from the risk of harm. Potential risks to people and staff were assessed and managed appropriately.
¿ Staff were safely recruited to ensure they were suitable to work in a care service. People received support from trained and supervised staff who had the right skills and knowledge.
¿ 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 supported this practice.
¿ People’s needs and individual preferences were documented in support plans that were comprehensive and kept up to date.
¿ People, their relatives and staff said they could approach the registered manager if they had any issues or concerns. There was a procedure in place which explained how people could raise concerns or complaints.
Rating at last inspection:
At our last inspection, the service was rated Good. The report was published on 15 August 2017.
Why we inspected:
This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk