Updated 20 June 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:
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one 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. Our expert by experience had previous knowledge and experience of physical and sensory impairments.
Service and service type:
Always Take Care is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides care to people in their own homes. At the time of our visit there were 38 people using the service.
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:
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the manager is often out of the office. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was carried out on the 23 May 2019 by visiting the office location to meet with the registered manager and review records, policies and procedures. Our expert by experience made telephone calls to people using the service on the 23 May 2019.
What we did:
We reviewed information we had received about the service, including information within the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR 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 looked at other information received from the provider, such as statutory notifications about events the provider must notify us about. We also contacted the local authority.
During our inspection we spoke with three people using the service, three relatives, two care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed the care records for three people using the service, and other records relating to the management oversight of the service. These included three staff recruitment files, staff training and supervision records, policies and procedures, surveys and feedback from people and quality assurance audits.