This was an announced inspection which included a visit to the offices of Cotswolds Link Homecare on the 9 March 2015. We also carried out visits to people in their own homes on 6 and 11 March 2015. This service moved into this office in August 2014 and this is the first inspection of the service at this location.
Cotswolds Link Homecare provides personal care to people living in their own homes in areas around the North Cotswolds, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. At the time of our inspection personal care was being provided to over 170 people.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was supported by senior supervisors.
We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Registration) Regulations 2009. The provider had not informed us about all incidents affecting the safety and well-being of people. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People’s needs were assessed to make sure their needs could be met by the service. Care plans were developed with them to reflect the way they wished to be supported with their personal care. Their were minor inconsistencies in the quality of the records being maintained in people’s homes which quality assurance audits had not identified.
Staff provided care and support which took into account people’s personal preferences, their likes and dislikes and their routines. People were supported to make choices about the way their care was delivered. They were encouraged to be as independent as possible. People said they were treated with care and sensitivity. One person commented, “My privacy and dignity is respected. This aspect of care is very good”.
People said the consistency of staff was very important to keep them safe and to deliver their care effectively. The registered manager was aware of the challenges of delivering care to people in a rural environment and tried to make sure people had their care at times they wished from their preferred staff. People said staff were knowledgeable about how to deliver care and support. Training was provided for staff and the provider checked their competency through observations of them supporting people.
Staff felt the registered manager and senior staff were accessible and listened to them. Systems were in place to deal with emergencies and for advice out of normal working hours. Changes to the rota and the scheduling of visits had improved the experiences of people receiving the service and staff.
People gave feedback about the service they received in a variety of ways, through meetings with senior staff, by completing surveys and using the complaints process. People told us, “The carers know what they’re doing”, “Very well prepared for the job” and “The carers are competent and confident when delivering care”.
The provider had a range of quality assurance processes in place to monitor and assess the quality of care provided. Feedback from people and staff was used to make changes to the way in which care and support was delivered. Future plans included opening an office nearer to people receiving a service in Oxfordshire.