Archived: Fosse Healthcare - Grantham

Updated 10 December 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 team consisted of an 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.

This service also provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and so they could arrange for staff to visit the office and speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 4 September 2019 and ended on 5 September 2016. We visited the office location on 5 September 2019.

What we did before 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the regional manager, the registered manager, an administrator and three members of the care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five 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 10 December 2019

About the service

Fosse Healthcare - Grantham is a care agency providing personal care to 80 people living in the community and 33 people living in an extra care scheme. The service can support adults of all ages, some of whom may be living with dementia. It supports people with autism or a learning disability, people with a sensory impairment or physical disability and people who need support due to mental health conditions. The extra care service was provided to some of the people living in purpose-built flats in Grantham.

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 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’s ability to communicate their choices was recorded along with any aids or support they needed.

Staff had received training in how to keep people safe from abuse. The registered manager worked with the local authority to investigate concerns and action was taken to keep people safe. People’s knew how to make a complaint and complaints were used to drive improvements in the care provided.

People had received an assessment before they started to use the service. Care plans accurately reflected people’s needs and risks to people while receiving care had been assessed and care was planned to keep people safe.

People were involved in planning their care. Medicines were safely managed and staff had received training in how to keep people safe from the risk of infection. Risks to people while eating and drinking were identified and people told us staff supported them to access a healthy diet.

There were enough staff to keep people safe and checks were completed to ensure they were safe to work with people using the service. People received care from a small consistent group of staff which allowed staff to get to know people and their needs well. Staff received training and support to enable them to receive safe care.

People told us staff respected their privacy and dignity and encouraged their independence. People’s likes and dislikes were recorded and staff ensured people had everything they needed before leaving people.

People using the service and staff were positive about the registered manager and felt they supported the delivery of high quality care. Systems to monitor the quality of care provided were in place and people were asked for their views of the care they received.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 2 October 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the registration date of the service.

Follow up

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