This inspection was announced and took place on 7 December 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of inspection to ensure the registered manager would be available to meet us at the provider’s office and also to make arrangements for us to visit some of the people in their own homes.
The last inspection of the service was carried out on 30 January 2014. No concerns were identified with the care being provided to people at that inspection.
Agincare UK (Dorchester) is a domiciliary care provider offering care and support to people living their own homes in Dorchester and surrounding areas. In addition they also provided care and support at an extra care scheme. This includes providing 24 hour on site care and support. They are registered to provide personal care. At the time of this inspection they were providing personal care and support for 92 people in their own homes.
There is a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and their relatives were very complimentary about the quality of the service provided and about the management and staff team. They felt the care was exceptionally good. One person said, “The carers are happy, pleasant, chat and laugh with me”.
People we spoke with felt they received support from familiar and consistent care workers. They told us they would recommend the service to other people. They confirmed care workers arrived on time and had the skills and knowledge to provide the support they needed. One person told us, “The carers know their jobs and do what I want.” A relative told us, “I see them [carers] every day, and they know what they are doing and have the correct skills to support my relative”.
The provider had effective systems to manage staff rosters, match staff skills with people’s needs and identify what capacity they had to take on new care packages. This meant that the service only took on new work if they knew there were the right staff available to meet people’s needs.
The office care coordinators planned visits to make sure staff arrived to each person at the agreed time.
The provider had a recruitment procedure that ensured the suitability of staff was checked before they began work. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and all said they were confident that any issues raised would be appropriately addressed by the registered manager. People felt safe with the staff who supported them. One person told us, “When they are leaving they always make sure the key is put back in the correct place. That makes me feel safe when I’m alone.
Staff completed an induction when they first started working at the agency. They also shadowed more experienced staff and worked through an induction booklet. This covered information about the provider, human resource topics, and all aspects of caring for people and managing risks, and essential health and safety subjects such as fire, infection control and manual handling.
People had positive relationships with the care workers who supported them. Staff knew people’s individual histories, likes and dislikes and things that were important to them. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and information personal to them was treated in confidence.
Care was planned and delivered in a way that was personalised to each person. Staff monitored people’s healthcare needs and, where changes in needs were identified, care was adjusted to make sure people continued to receive care which met their needs and supported their independence. Care plans gave clear information about the support people required to meet both their physical and emotional needs and had information about what was important to the person.
Risk assessments included risks associated with people’s homes and risks to the person using the service. Staff had access to care plans and risk assessments and were aware of how to protect people from risks of harm.
People received help with their medicines from staff who were trained to safely support them and who made sure they had their medicine when they needed it. The provider undertook regular competency checks on staff to ensure they followed safe practice when supporting people.
The provider had a clear vision, which was to provide a service which was influenced by the needs and wishes of the people who used it. There was a commitment to providing high quality care which was tailored to people’s individual wishes. Their vision and values were communicated to staff through staff meetings, supervisions and a regular newsletter. People’s views were gathered by regular monitoring visits and phone calls and by satisfaction surveys
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and plan on-going improvements. People using the service and staff felt involved and able to make suggestions or raise concerns.