Updated 10 August 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
One Inspector and an expert by experience conducted the inspection. 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 and specialist housing.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
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. At the time of the inspection, 63 people were receiving care and treatment. Inspection activity started on 3 July 2023 and ended on 6 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 3 July 2023.
What we did before the inspection
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 reviewed information we held about the service including, notifications, complaints, feedback from the general public and quality assurance reports. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager, an operations manager, 2 team leaders, an advanced practitioner, 3 relatives and 8 people. We obtained written feedback from 10 members of staff. We reviewed quality assurance records, various policies and procedures, training and supervision records, medication competency assessments and staffing records.