Beda Homecare Ltd trading as Home Instead Bedford

At the time of the inspection, 23 people were receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

People's individual risks were assessed, and measures were put in place to reduce the risks to help maintain their safety. Staff knew how to report any concerns to help

People received care and support from a team of care staff who had been recruited using a robust recruitment process.

People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff had been trained and had their competencies checked.

People were protected from the risk or spread of infection. Staff used personal protective equipment when supporting people with personal care.

People received support to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People were supported to access health professionals when required.

People were treated with dignity and respect and people found staff to be kind and caring.

People were supported to make decisions about their care needs and staff respected their wishes.

People’s confidential records were stored securely to help protect their privacy.

People received person-centred care and support that took account of their personal choices and preferences. Staff had a good understanding of people’s care and support needs.

People had access to information in a format they could understand.

Complaints were investigated in-line with the provider’s complaints procedure.

People were not receiving end of life care at the time of the inspection.

The provider had a range of systems and processes in place to continually monitor, assess and improve the quality of the care people received.

People were overall pleased with the support provided. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs. They enjoyed working at the service and spoke positively about the support they received from the management team.

People’s views were sought, and people felt their views were important and valued.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated as Good. The report was published on 23 March 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the ratings achieved at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to review information we receive about the service until the next scheduled inspection. If we receive any information of concern, we may inspect sooner than scheduled.

Beda Homecare Ltd trading as Home Instead Senior Care provides personal care for older people and people with dementia care needs within their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing support to 22 people.

The service did not have a registered manager, but a manager was in place who was going through the registration process. 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 felt safe. Staff had an understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse and people had risk assessments in place to enable them to be as independent as possible.

Effective recruitment processes were in place and followed by the service and there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s care and support needs

Medicines were administered safely.

Staff members had induction training when joining the service, as well as regular ongoing training.

Staff were well supported by the manager and had regular one to one supervisions.

People’s consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met.

People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this.

People were supported to access health appointments when necessary.

Staff supported people in a very caring manner. They knew the people they were supporting well and understood their specific requirements for care. Staff had created unique and innovative experiences for people so that they were able to express themselves and feel like an individual.

People felt involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute and direct the way in which they were supported.

People’s privacy and dignity was maintained at all times.

People were encouraged to take part in a range of activities and social interests of their choice.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to use it.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were used effectively to drive future improvement and identify where action was needed