Background to this inspection
Updated
13 January 2021
The inspection
As part of a pilot into virtual inspections of domiciliary and extra-care housing services, the Care Quality Commission conducted an inspection of this provider on 6 November 2020. The inspection was carried out with the consent of the provider and was part of a pilot to gather information to inform CQC whether it might be possible to conduct inspections in a different way in the future. We completed this inspection using virtual methods and online tools such as electronic file sharing, video calls and phone calls to gather the information we rely on to form a judgement on the care and support provided. At no time did we visit the provider’s or location’s office as we usually would when conducting an inspection.
Inspection team
The inspection team comprised of an inspector, an assistant inspector, a member of the CQC medicines inspection team, and two Experts 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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 contacted the registered manager three weeks before site visit activity began so they had time to share documents we needed to view and could arrange telephone calls for us with people using the service and relatives.
Inspection activity started on 6 November and ended on 26 November 2020. We spoke with the registered manager on 19 November.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We looked at all the information we held about the service and sought feedback from the local authorities and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 17 people who used the service and two relatives. We reviewed care records and associated medicine records for four people. We looked at a range of records relating to the management of the service including safeguarding and complaints records, meetings, reviews and audits. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, a care coordinator and three care workers. We checked a sample of policies, reviewed staff recruitment with the registered manager and looked at staff training records and meetings.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found.
Updated
13 January 2021
This report was created as part of a pilot which looked at new and innovative ways of fulfilling CQC’s regulatory obligations and responding to risk in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was conducted with the consent of the provider. Unless the report says otherwise, we obtained the information in it without visiting the Provider.
About the service
Meadow Lodge Home Care Services LLP is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults and people living with dementia or mental health problems. 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.
The service is mainly provided to people living in the Selby area, as well as some parts of Wakefield and the outskirts of York. When we inspected there were approximately 180 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were positive about the quality of the service they received. Everyone told us their care workers were polite and said they were kind and respectful.
People told us they enjoyed positive relationships with their care workers and looked forward to them visiting. One person commented, “I feel safe with the carers without a doubt, they are kind and caring towards me and we have a joke with each other which is nice.”
There were effective systems to monitor that calls took place as planned. Effective management systems, policies and procedures were in place to protect people’s safety and welfare. We have made a recommendation about the management of some medicines to make sure that best practice guidance is followed.
The service was responsive to people’s changing needs and people felt well cared for and listened to. Care plans contained information regarding people’s care preferences; these were kept under review and updated as needed. 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.
Staff felt the registered manager was supportive and they always had the appropriate support and training to fulfil their roles effectively. Managers undertook regular audits and checks on the quality of the service to identify themes and trends and monitor progress.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 12 February 2018).
Why we inspected
This was a planned pilot virtual inspection. The report was created as part of a pilot which looked at new and innovative ways of fulfilling CQC’s regulatory obligations and responding to risk in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was conducted with the consent of the provider. Unless the report says otherwise, we obtained the information in it without visiting the Provider.
The pilot inspection considered the key questions of safe and well-led and provide a rating for those key questions. Only parts of the effective, caring and responsive key questions were considered, and therefore the ratings for these key questions are those awarded at the last inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meadow Lodge Home Care Services LLP on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.