The Local Care Agency

Updated 19 March 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one adult social care 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. The expert by experience for the inspection at The Local Care Agency had experience of caring for individuals who lived in their own home.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to people of all ages.

The service had a manager registered 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:

This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 13 February 2019 and was announced. We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure people who used the service, staff and visitors were available to talk with us.

What we did:

Before our inspection we completed our planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports.

We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the commissioning department who used The Local Care Agency. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced whilst using the service.

As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with a range of people about The Local Care Agency. They included three people who used the service, eight relatives, two members of the management team and five staff.

We looked at records related to the management of the service. We did this to ensure the management team had oversight of the service and they could respond to any concerns highlighted or lead The Local Care Agency in ongoing improvements. We checked care records of four people who used the service. We also looked at staffing levels, recruitment procedures and training provision.

Updated 19 March 2019

About the service:

The Local Care Agency provides domiciliary services to people who require support in their own home. Care is provided to a wide range of people in the community and also provides assistance for carers. The service operates seven days a week and has out of hours contacts.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and relatives told us they felt safe whilst using the service. A relative commented, “They make sure [my relative] is secure in her home and they look after her safety.” Staff files we looked at confirmed staff had safeguarding training to protect people from poor care or abuse.

The management team had good procedures to monitor and reduce accidents and incidents. Care plans we reviewed included control measures intended to mitigate the risk of unsafe support.

Personnel files evidenced the management team used the same safe recruitment procedures we found at our last inspection. Staff confirmed there were sufficient staffing levels because they had time to complete visits in a calm and unhurried way.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of their duties to prompt people who lived in their own homes to take their medication. This assisted them to protect people from the unsafe management of medicines.

We found the registered manager was referencing current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance to achieve effective outcomes. Staff told us training provision gave them the skills to complete their duties.

Where nutritional support formed part of a person’s care package, we saw the management team had guided staff to meet their needs.

People who used the service and relatives stated staff engaged with other organisations to help provide consistent care. We found care plans focused on maintaining their independence in all aspects of their support.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We observed staff were kind, friendly and patient with people they supported. Those who used the service and their relatives said staff had a caring attitude. One person told us, “Nothing is too much trouble, they go the extra mile.”

Care records were personalised to the individual’s needs and support requirements. Information collected was used to develop agreed support packages with the person or their representative’s consent.

Staff told us the management team worked with them to gain insight into people’s support. They said the registered manager was approachable and listened to their comments. One staff member stated, “The managers are lovely. They work with us and are supportive and approachable.”

The management team regularly completed service quality assurance audits to check everyone’s safety and wellbeing. People who used The Local Care Agency told us they felt included in service development.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 24 September 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated good overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.