Updated 24 May 2022
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2088 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meting 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 telephone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
The performance review and assessment was completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
This is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced.
We gave short notice on 29 April 2022 to the provider so they would be available to support the performance review and assessment, and a video meeting was scheduled for 4 May 2022.
Inspection activity started on 29 April 2022 and ended on 11 May 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we had received about the service since registration. We contacted the Local Authority and asked for feedback from them. 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.
During the inspection
This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls and telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff. We used electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.
During this time, we spoke with the two directors – who are the providers of the business. One director is also the nominated individual and the other director is the also the registered manager. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. In this report, we refer to the two directors as the nominated individual and the registered manager. We also spoke with one person and one relative who gave feedback on the service and two care staff to gain their feedback.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one care plan including risk management records and daily notes. We reviewed policies and procedures and quality monitoring records the Nominated Individual and Registered Manager used to assure themselves people received a safe service.