Starlight Healthcare Ltd

Updated 13 December 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 16 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in.

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector. Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. The registered manager completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We visited the office location on 16 November 2018 and spoke with the registered manager, the care manager, the team leader and three support staff. We also looked at a range of records, including support plans, for two people and recruitment records for three staff. After the visit to the office, we spoke with one person and two relatives and received written feedback from one social care professional.

This was the first inspection of Starlight Healthcare Limited.

Updated 13 December 2018

The inspection took place on 16 November 2018 and was announced.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. Starlight Healthcare Limited provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults with a range of needs, such as people living with physical disabilities.

Not everyone using Starlight Healthcare Limited receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’. Personal care is where people have help and support with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

The provider had policies and procedures in place designed to protect people from abuse. Risk assessments identified when people were at risk and action was taken to minimise the risks.

People’s needs were met by suitable numbers of staff who knew people’s needs well. Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place. People were supported with their medicines by staff who were trained and competent to do so. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection through training and the use of personal protective equipment, such as gloves and aprons. Lessons were learned and improvements made when issues were highlighted as having the potential to go wrong.

People’s needs were assessed before the registered manager agreed to offer them a service. People were supported by staff who had received relevant induction, training and supervision to enable them to support people they worked with. Training was relevant and tailored to people’s assessed needs. Staff were trained to support people to eat where people had specific dietary requirements. Staff supported people to access healthcare services when this was part of the support plan, for example, supporting someone to see their GP or a chiropodist.

The registered manager and staff ensured they worked together with other organisations to deliver effective care and support. Staff told us people made their own decisions and consented to care and support.

People were supported by a caring staff team and were supported to express their views, and be involved in making daily decisions about their care and support. Staff described how they supported people with personal care whilst being mindful of their dignity.

People’s needs were met by staff who knew them well. Each person had a support plan in place which detailed their likes, dislikes, preferences and health and social care needs. People confirmed that staff arrived on time and when expected. The service had supported people with end of life care. The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people were provided with a copy.

The registered manager had a clear vision and strategy to deliver high quality care and support based on people’s individual needs and wishes. We received positive feedback from people and professionals when we asked them for their views on the management of the service. The registered manager and staff sought the views of people using the service and their relatives. The registered manager ensured the service was continuously learning and improving, and had an action plan in place which covered a range of topics regarding managing the business.