Updated 29 October 2021
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 completed by one 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 and flats. The service had a manager supported by the operations manager. The operations manager was in the process of registering 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 12 October 2021 and ended on the 20 October 2021. We visited the office location on 12 October 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We contacted the local authority commissioning and safeguarding team and Healthwatch for their feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 the manger, the operations manager and the manging director. We reviewed two people's care and medication records and an electronic care plan used as point of reference by staff. We looked at two staff files, staff training and staff supervision records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including survey outcomes, quality audits and service checks were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two people who use the service, eight relatives and one person who was a primary carer. We spoke with five members of staff.