SPOT-ON Healthcare

SPOT-ON Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people using the service.

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

People were cared for safely. Staff knew how to keep people safe from abuse or harm. Risks to people's health had been assessed and plans were in place to reduce any risks identified. People received their medicines safely and there were effective practices to protect people from infection. Safe recruitment practices were in place and people were assured they had a team of staff who supported them.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving support and their independence was promoted. People where confident staff knew how to support them; staff were skilled and had undertaken training to enable them to fulfil their roles. Staff were supported in their roles.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were described as kind, caring and respectful. Care was provided in a dignified and respectful way. Care was person-centred. People made choices about the way they wanted their care provided and were encouraged to do things for themselves to remain as independent as possible.

People knew who to speak with if they had any complaint or concern. There was a complaints procedure in place so any complaint would be dealt with appropriately.

People and staff had confidence in the registered manager to manage the service well and were encouraged to give feedback. The registered manager had a good understanding of the regulatory requirements of their role. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and performance of the service to help drive improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection The last rating for this service was good (published 26 October 2018)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the administration of medicines. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe section of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Spot-On Healthcare provides a domiciliary care support service to people living within their own homes in the community in Corby and surrounding villages. There were 12 people receiving support with personal care when we inspected.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were completed to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service. There were sufficient numbers of staff to provide people with the support that had been agreed with them. People received care from staff that had received the right training and support to do the job.

People’s needs had been assessed prior to their service being agreed. There were plans of care in place that been developed to guide staff in providing care in partnership with people who used the service. Staff were responsive to people’s changing needs. They could demonstrate that they understood what was required of them to provide people with the care they needed to remain living independently in their local community.

People benefitted from a service that was appropriately managed so that they received their service in a timely and reliable way. They received care from staff that were friendly, compassionate, kind and caring.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans. These provided staff with the guidance and information they needed on how to minimise risks when they provided care and support. There were procedures in place to guide staff when supporting people to take their medicines. Staff were trained in infection control, and supplied with appropriate personal protective equipment, such as disposable gloves and aprons, to perform their roles safely.

People's consent was sought before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met. 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 place at the service supported this practice.

People were happy with the way that staff provided their care and support. They said were listened to, their views were acknowledged and acted upon and their care and support was delivered in accordance with their assessed needs and their preferences for how they wished to receive their care.

Staff had a good understanding of what safeguarding meant and the procedures for reporting abuse. The staff we spoke with were confident that any concerns they raised would be followed up appropriately by the registered manager or other senior staff.

People were cared for by staff that had access to the support, supervision, and training they needed to work effectively in their roles. There was good leadership regarding day-to-day and longer-term management of the service.

There was an effective system of quality assurance in place which ensured people consistently received a good standard of care and support. Arrangements were in place for the service to reflect and learn from complaints and incidents to improve safety across the service.

The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and commissioners to ensure that where improvements were needed action was taken. Communication was open and honest, and any improvements identified were worked upon as required.