16 June 2016
During a routine inspection
Nottingham Domiciliary Care Service is a domiciliary care agency that is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service was supporting one people across the city and County of Nottingham. The service supported people living with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.
Nottingham Domiciliary Care Service is required by the Care Quality Commission to have a registered manager. A registered manager was in post 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.
People were supported by staff who were trained to recognise the signs of harm and knew what actions to take to keep people safe and protect them. Risks were recognised, and managed through the use of risk assessments. The risk assessments advised staff of the best ways to promote people's safety.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, and people usually received support from the same staff members. The provider had carried out relevant checks to make sure staff were recruited safely.
At the time of our inspection, no one required support with their medication. However, the provider arranged training for staff. This was to ensure that staff were able to administer medicines correctly should the situation change.
People were supported by staff who had been trained to work under the guidance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA is the legal framework to ensure that where people are assessed as lacking capacity to make decisions for themselves, decisions are made in their best interests. People using the service were deemed to have capacity to make everyday decisions, staff had received training in relation to Mental Capacity Act, and understood relevant issues relating to consent and capacity.
People were supported by staff who had knowledge of their needs and routines, and who had the necessary training to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Staff received training, and were given regular supervision and support to ensure they maintained the necessary skills to fulfil their roles.
People were satisfied with their support, and were positive about the way staff assisted and interacted with them. Staff demonstrated clear understanding of the needs and preferences of the people they supported. Staff showed care and respect in discussion about the people they supported
People were involved in planning their support, and participated in assessments before their support began. People's choices and preferences were always considered and they received support that was suitable for their needs. Care records gave information to staff about the support that people needed and how it would be provided. Where relevant staff were able to seek support from healthcare professionals in order to meet people's health care needs.
The registered manager and provider checked people’s satisfaction with the support they received. This included reviews, personal visits from senior staff telephone calls, and satisfaction surveys. Concerns or complaints were responded to adequately.
There was an open and supportive culture within the service, and staff spoke positively about the management and the leadership. Staff felt confident to raise concerns or suggestions with the management team, and trusted that any issues would be readily dealt with.
Support plans and risk assessments were regularly checked and amended to ensure they provided up-to-date information on each person's support needs .
The service kept records of incidents and accidents, and recorded what relevance actions had been taken as a result.