Background to this inspection
Updated
4 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 was undertaken by one inspector.
Service and service type
Home Instead is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care and support to people living in their own homes. People using the service received support with personal care including washing, dressing and food preparation. The Care Quality Commission does not regulate premises used for domiciliary care; this inspection looked at people’s care and support.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small 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
Inspection activity started on 30 October and ended on 13 November. We visited the office location on 31 October.
Before 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. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with three members of staff including the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medication records. We looked at two 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.
After the inspection
We continued to seek feedback about the service from people’s relatives.
Updated
4 December 2019
About the service
Home Instead Littlehampton is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care support to people living in their own homes in the Littlehampton, Arundel, and Goring-by-Sea areas. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care support to one person.
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
A new manager had commenced at the service during the week of our inspection. Prior to this the service had been without a registered manager since May 2019. During this time the provider had not ensured effective governance of the service at all times. Effective audits were not taking place and the providers processes for assessing and monitoring the quality of services provided were not being followed. We have made a recommendation to the provider about this. We did not identify any negative impact for people from this lack of governance.
People were happy with the care they received and felt safe with the staff that were supporting them. The service was safe. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and improper treatment and staff knew how to identify potential harm and report concerns. People received their medicines safely from staff who were trained to administer these. Checks were carried out prior to staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service
People were cared for by staff who were well supported and had the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs effectively. Care records included assessment of risk and staff knew how to reduce the risk of potential harm. People received support from a consistent team who knew them well. There were sufficient numbers of staff to ensure people did not feel rushed and people received their support on time
Positive and caring relationships had been developed between staff and people who used the service. People were treated with kindness and compassion and staff were friendly and respectful. People benefitted from having support from staff who had a good understanding of their individual needs.
People's privacy and dignity was respected, and their diverse needs were supported. 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.
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 CQC on 15 November 2018 and this is the first inspection since registration.
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.