Updated 30 September 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 and staff.
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 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 that 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available 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
The inspection activity started on 23 August 2022 and ended 23 September 2022.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 and staff. We used telephone calls, e-mail and online meetings to engage with the registered manager. We used electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care assessments, care plans, day to day records of their care, and one person’s medicines records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service. This included feedback from people using the service and their relatives, minutes of meetings and some policies and procedures. Staff records in relation to recruitment, induction, training and staff supervision were also looked at. We saw records of ‘spot checks’ of staff’s practice and competence undertaken by the registered manager.
We spoke with people who used the service and their relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including care staff and the registered manager.