Quality Care (Staffordshire) Limited

Updated 2 October 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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 domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We carried out telephone interviews with five people who used the service, four relatives and four care staff. During our visit to the office we spoke with the operations manager and registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. These included three people’s care records and risk assessments. We looked at three staff files to review the provider’s recruitment process. We looked at staff training records and records relating to quality checks.

Updated 2 October 2019

About the service

Quality Care (Staffordshire) Limited is a domiciliary care service. It was providing personal care to 48 older people and younger adults at the time of the inspection.

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 protected from the risk of potential abuse as staff were able to recognise this and knew how to safeguard them. Identified risks to people were assessed and measures were put in place to mitigate them. Sufficient numbers of staff were provided to meet people’s assessed needs. People were supported by skilled staff to take their prescribed medicines. Staff had access to personal protective equipment to promote good hygiene standards. When things went wrong the provider had taken action to avoid a reoccurrence.

The assessment of people’s care and support needs ensured they received a service specific to their needs. People were supported by staff who were skilled and who received one to one supervision sessions. The provider worked with other organisations to ensure people received a seamless service. When required people were supported to access healthcare services to promote their physical and mental health.

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.

People were treated with kindness and compassion and staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs. People’s involvement in planning their care and support ensured they received a service the way they liked. People’s right to privacy and dignity was respected by staff.

Equality, diversity and human rights were promoted to ensure both people who use the service and the staff team were treated fairly. People were supported by staff to access their local community when needed. Complaints were listened to and acted on. At the time of our inspection no one was receiving end of life care.

There was a clear management structure in place. The provider’s governance was effective in assessing and monitoring the quality of service provided to people. Systems were in place to enable people and staff to have a say in how the service was run.

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

The last rating for this service was Good (published 3 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.