1 September 2016
During a routine inspection
Interserve Halifax is a Domiciliary Care Agency which provides nursing and personal care to people in their own homes. They specialise in providing care and support to people who have complex care or palliative care needs. Their service covers Calderdale and parts of Huddersfield and Bradford. The agency’s office is located just outside Halifax town centre.
The service had a manager who showed us they were in the process of registering at the time of our inspection. 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.
There was enough skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Staff underwent pre-employment checks before working with people to assess their suitability.
People were supported to take appropriate risks. Risks were assessed and individual plans put in place to protect people from harm.
Medicines were administered and recorded in a safe way. Management reviewed medicines records to maintain a high standard.
Staff had been trained in all areas to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff received supervision and appraisal aimed at improving the care and support they provided. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in supporting people to make their own choices and decisions.
People were supported and encouraged to eat a healthy diet and drink sufficient fluids. People were supported to maintain their independence.
People and their relatives told us staff treated people with kindness and with dignity and respect.
People, and where appropriate, family members, were involved in planning the care and support they received. People were supported to develop and maintain relationships with family and friends.
Care and support provided for people was individualised. The service was planned around people’s needs. Staff supported people to participate in a range of activities. The service made changes in response to people’s views and opinions and learned from feedback.
The manager and provider did not always submit notifications of incidents to CQC. However, the manager and senior staff provided good leadership and management. The values, vision and culture of the service were clearly communicated.
The quality of service people received was continually monitored and any areas needing improvement were identified and addressed.
We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Registration) Regulations 2009. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.