Updated 15 February 2024
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting 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 phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff. Inspection activity started on 3 November 2023 and finished on 4 January 2024.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of 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 and specialist housing.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 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
We looked at all the information we held about the provider including information related to the incident. 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.
We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 1 relative of a person who used the service, but were not able to speak to either person using the service. One person was no longer using the service during the course of our inspection. We spoke with the registered manager and 2 care workers. We viewed a range of records. This included 2 people's risk management plans and care records. We saw 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including medicines support records, audits, meeting records and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.