Viable Care Services

Updated 25 November 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service, staff and managers.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager, who is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 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

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service, phone calls to staff, e-mails and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. Inspection activity started on 9 September 2022 and ended 16 November 2022. We spoke with 3 people who used the service and their relatives to gain their feedback about the quality of the service. We spoke with the registered manager and 2 members of care staff about the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 25 November 2022

About the service

Viable Care Service is a domiciliary care agency and provides personal care and support to people who require assistance in their own home. At the time of our inspection 5 people were being supported by the service. 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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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

Right Support: People were happy with the care and support they received. People were supported by a regular team of staff who knew them well. This promoted continuity of care. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support. 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.

Right Care: People's needs and preferences were assessed prior to receiving the service. People received consistent care from staff who knew them well. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Risk assessments identified and reduced any risks to people and staff.

Right Culture: The registered manager and care team listened and responded to people's views. Quality assurance and monitoring systems were used to identify shortfalls and improve the service for the people who used it. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff could meet their needs and wishes. People were supported to maintain good health, were supported with their medicines and had accessed healthcare services when needed. Staff prepared food and drink to meet people's dietary needs and preferences. People received care that was tailored to their needs.

Staff and the registered manager worked effectively with community health and social care professionals to ensure people's needs were met. People knew how to raise issues or complaints, and said the service was responsive to their needs. People felt consulted and involved in the running of the service.

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 5 December 2019 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection of a newly registered service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.