Background to this inspection
Updated
20 August 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 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service short 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.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager. We looked at records relating to people’s care. We also looked at records relating to staff training and supervision.
After the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives. We spoke with four members of staff.
Updated
20 August 2021
About the service
Angel Care is a domiciliary care service providing care to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, there were ten people receiving support with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were very happy with the service provided. It was evident from their feedback they appreciated seeing regular staff and as a result of this were able to build strong positive relationships. Comments included, “I’m very pleased, she’s (the care worker) is very, very good”, “they’ve been brilliant”, and “I know he’s in safe hands”.
The registered manager had taken action since the last inspection to improve recruitment. This had been a breach at our last inspection. We saw that checks were undertaken to ensure that newly recruited staff were safe. This included gathering references from previous employers and undertaking a disclosure and barring service check (DBS). A DBS check identifies people who are barred from working with vulnerable adults and any convictions they have. People all told us they felt safe with staff and had good relationships with the registered manager. This meant people felt able to report any issues or concerns if they had them.
The registered manager had taken action in relation to staff supervision and training. This had been a breach of regulation at our last inspection. Staff told us they were very happy with the support and training they received. They told us they felt able to ask for specific training if they needed it and this was supported. Where a person had specific clinical needs, suitable specialist training was provided for staff. Staff told us they received regular supervision and the registered manager came to observe their practice in people’s home as a means of checking on their performance and development needs.
The service was well led, though we have recommended further improvements to the systems in place for checking quality and safety. This was a breach of regulation at our inspection. People all reported having a positive relationship with the registered manager and told us communication was good. There was a strong person centred culture within the service and people were very happy with the service they received.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 March 2020)
Three breaches of regulation were found at our last inspection. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.