Nightingales Homecare

Updated 12 July 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. 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service 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

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.

Inspection activity started on 3 July 2019 and ended on 5 July 2019. We visited the office location on 3 July 2019 and gathered feedback by telephone from people and relatives on 4 and 5 July 2019.

What we did before the inspection

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

We also contacted the local Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. Healthwatch had no information to share about the service.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered provider, the registered manager, the training coordinator and six members of care staff. We also spoke with three professionals that collaborated with the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service

Nightingales Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing care to 160 people who were living 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.

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

There were processes in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. Medicines were managed in line with good practice guidance.Staff assessed risks to people's health, safety and wellbeing and put plans in place to manage these risks.

People received support from a regular team of staff which meant care was consistent. People's calls were usually on time or staff called if they were going to be late. The provider monitored care staff attendance at calls using electronic call monitoring.

People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring in their approach. People told us staff communicated well with them and acted in an open and transparent way.

Care plans needed to be more person-centred to provide staff with the information they needed to provide care and support in a way that met people's needs and preferences. The service arranged to gather this information during the inspection. People felt confident to raise any complaints they might have. We saw complaints were identified, investigated and used to improve the service.

The management team had the knowledge and experience to operate the service safely and effectively. They demonstrated a good understanding of all aspects of managing the service.There was a positive culture where staff and management took pride in the care and support that they provided.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection.

The service met the characteristics of good in all areas. More information is in the full report.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Good (12 July 2018).

Previous breaches

At the last inspection we identified one breach of the Health and Social Care Act regulations in relation to good governance. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.