Archived: St Michaels Home Care

Updated 22 February 2020

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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 a short period notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 14 January 2020 and ended on 20 January 2020. We visited the office location on 14 and 16 January 2020.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. We sought feedback from the local authority. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

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

As part of the inspection we visited two people in their homes. We spoke with them and their relatives. We also contacted four people by telephone and spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider and registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’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 contacted three further people for their feedback about the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 22 February 2020

About the service

St Michaels Home Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to older people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of the inspection 12 people received support from St Michaels Home Care, however only seven of them received support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received support from staff who knew them well and were kind and caring. People’s care and support needs were assessed and reviewed. People received care that was person-centred and reflected their needs and choices.

People were protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff knew what actions to take if they identified concerns. There were enough staff working to provide the support people needed. Recruitment procedures ensured only suitable staff worked at the service.

Risk assessments provided guidance for staff about individual and environmental risks. Systems were in place to ensure people received their medicines safely, when they needed them.

Staff received training that enabled them to provide the care and support that people needed. Staff received regular supervision and support from the registered manager. They felt supported by their colleagues. People's health needs were met, they were supported to have access to healthcare services when they needed them.

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.

The registered manager had good oversight of the service. They were able to tell us about people and their needs and were working to continually develop and improve the service. There was an audit system which helped the provider identify areas which needed to be improved.

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 06 February 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the length of time the service had been registered.

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.