Archived: Human Support Group Limited - Wolverhampton

Updated 16 February 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 09 November 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to meet with us. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is someone who has had experience of this type of service. The expert by experience made telephone calls to people and their relatives between 08 and 13 November 2017.

As part of the inspection process we looked at information we already held about the provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any incidences that put people at risk of harm. We refer to these as notifications. We checked if the provider had sent us notifications in order to plan the areas we wanted to focus on during our inspection. The provider had sent us a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. Prior to the inspection we sent out questionnaires to 50 people who used the service to ask for their views and experiences. We received responses from 20 people. We also contacted the local authority for information they held about the service and Healthwatch, which provides information on health and social care providers. This helped us to plan the inspection.

We spoke with eight people that used the service, four relatives, three care staff, the care co-ordinator, the registered manager and the regional director. We looked at four people’s care records to see how their care was planned and delivered. We also looked at three staff recruitment files to check suitable staff members were recruited, staff training records and records relating to the management and governance of the service.

Updated 16 February 2018

This inspection took place on 09 November 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides domiciliary care to people living in their own homes and we wanted to make sure staff would be available. At the last inspection on 04 November 2015 at a previously registered address, we found the provider needed to make improvements in relation to the amount of time given to staff to provide support and the way in which complaints were handled. At this inspection we found that some improvements had been made in these areas, however further improvements were required.

Human Support Group Limited - Wolverhampton is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults, most of whom are aged 65 and over. Not everyone using Human Support Group Limited – Wolverhampton receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; 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 the inspection the service supported 87 people ranging in age, gender, ethnicity and disability.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People did not always receive care and support at the times agreed and some people experienced inconsistencies with staffing which meant they were dissatisfied with the service. People felt safe while being supported by staff and staff were aware of their responsibilities in protecting people from abuse. Risks were assessed and managed to ensure people were kept safe. People received their medicines as prescribed and staff were trained to administer these safely. People were protected from the risk of infection by staff who followed national guidance about infection control. The provider was open and honest when investigating concerns and had developed action plans when areas of improvement had been identified.

Information about people’s capacity to make specific decisions had not always been recorded, although staff were trained to ensure people were asked for their consent before care was provided. People’s needs and choices were assessed and recorded prior to them receiving care and support. Staff received training and supervision to ensure they were competent to deliver effective and compassion care. Staff worked effectively with other relevant agencies to ensure people’s needs were met.

People received support from staff who were caring and kind. People felt that their regular staff knew them well and understood their needs. People were supported to make decisions about their day to day care and support. Where people had specific culturally or religious needs these were identified and supported by staff. People were supported to maintain their independence where possible and staff were described as respectful.

People received care and support that was planned in a personalised way to meet their individual needs. Any changes to people’s needs were communicated with staff who provided support and recorded in people’s care records. People were confident to raise concerns if they were unhappy about the service their received and there was a system in place to manage and respond to complaints.

The provider had failed to address some of the concerns identified at the last inspection. Improvements were required to the quality assurance systems to ensure people received a high quality service. People, relatives and staff had been asked to give feedback on the service and the registered manager was working to make improvements to the way in which this feedback was sought. Most people we spoke with were happy with the service they received and staff felt supported by the management team.

During the inspection we found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.