Routes Healthcare Preston

Updated 21 March 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type: Routes Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to both children and adults living in their own homes, including those who have complex needs and those who require end of life care. The Care Quality Commission does not regulate premises used for domiciliary care; this inspection looked at people's care and support.

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 visit, because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to provide the information we required.

What we did: Prior to our inspection we looked at all the information we held about the service. This included any concerns, investigations or feedback. We also checked the statutory notifications the service is required to send to us by law. We asked for feedback from professionals about their views of the service. We also looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used a planning tool to collate all this evidence and information prior to visiting the service.

Most people who used the service were unable to communicate verbally with us. However, during our inspection we visited, with their agreement, two people in the community. We spoke with eight relatives and eight staff members, including the registered manager, who took overall responsibility for the service. We looked at a variety of records. These included four care files, three staff personnel records, audits, policies and procedures and records relating to the operation and oversight of the service.

Updated 21 March 2019

About the service: Routes Healthcare Preston (Routes Healthcare) is a domiciliary care service, which provides support for both children and adults in the community, who require assistance with personal care, including complex needs and end of life care. The agency office is located in the docklands area on the outskirts of Preston city centre. It is accessible by public transport and car parking is available. At the time of our inspection there were 17 people who used the service.

People’s experience of using this service: People’s experiences of using the service varied. Some told us they were very happy with the service provided, whilst others felt some aspects of the service could be better, particularly in relation to the timeliness of the scheduled visits. Systems to act on allegations of abuse were in place. A wide range of risk assessments had been developed and potential risks were being managed well.

A system was in place for the reporting and recording of accidents and incidents, should it be necessary. Relatives of the people we visited took on the responsibility of the management of medicines. However, staff had received training in medication awareness and guidance for staff was available. Staff were recruited safely.

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 the service supported this practice. People's needs and choices were assessed and their care and support was delivered to achieve effective outcomes. Staff engaged with people and we were told care workers were kind and caring.

New staff received an induction programme and completed shadow shifts before commencing lone working. A broad range of training had been completed by all staff, who were regularly supervised and appraised each year.

Support plans had been developed, which were detailed and person centred documents, although on isolated occasions these did not always reflect people’s current needs. Detailed information was recorded in daily diaries, which demonstrated people were provided with person centred care and support plans were available in people’s homes. A system was in place for the management of complaints.

Some audits had taken place and feedback was regularly obtained from those who used the service and their relatives. Regular team meetings were taking place.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of this service since registration.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection.

Follow up: The service will be re-inspected as per our inspection programme. We will continue to monitor any information we receive about the service. We may bring the next inspection forward if we receive any concerning information.