About the service 646b is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. The service provides care for older people and younger adults with needs relating to dementia and physical disabilities. There were two people using this service at the time of our inspection. 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
There was a registered manager in place who was open, transparent and approachable, but was not always in the office ensuring good governance was in place. They did not have a good oversight of the service. The registered manager was passionate about the care the service provided and acknowledged the shortfalls we found during the inspection. People complimented the service and their experience of the service was good. Planning and development was not always monitored or recorded in line with the providers policy and procedures. People were involved in their care and support and had the opportunity to give feedback about the service. The provider was aware of the duty of candour.
Risks were assessed, but not always recorded. Systems were in place to help protect people from harm and were in line with the providers policy and procedures. However, there were no systems in place to monitor when things went wrong, we were not confident incidents would be escalated or appropriate action would be taken. Sufficient numbers of staff were employed for the number of people using the service. Medicine systems were not in place as the service was not responsible for administering any medicines at the time of the inspection. The service followed infection control guidelines effectively.
Staff supervision and support was taking place, but not always recorded. People’s needs were assessed. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for. People’s nutritional needs were recorded, but the service were not responsible for people’s nutritional needs at the time of the inspection. The service supported people to work with other professionals and agencies to ensure they received effective care. People were involved in decisions about the environment in which they lived. People were supported to live a healthy life style. The service was not always following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, as they had not record appropriately information when someone lacked capacity.
People were cared for by kind, compassionate and polite staff. People were supported to express their views about their care and support and were treated with respect by the staff that cared for them.
People’s communication needs were met, but not always in the format they could understand. People were empowered to make choices and have control of their life. People were aware how to make a complaint and raise a concern. End of life policies and procedures were in place should people wish to discuss their end of life care needs.
We have made a recommendation around mental capacity assessments and knowledge.
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 19/03/2019 and this is the first rated inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the registration date of the service.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
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.