9 July 2019
During a routine inspection
The service provided personal care to adults living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service provided personal care to 42 people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service
The provider had made improvements to the service following our last inspection. The correct numbers of staff were deployed to people to provide safe care and there were sufficient numbers of staff. Records of people and staff were more up to date and accurate.
People told us they felt safe with staff who provided care to them. However, some people told us they did not always receive a consistent service due to poor timekeeping, short notice cancellations or a lack of communication from the service. We have made a recommendation for the provider to follow best practice guidance on punctuality and consistency of care.
Procedures to protect people from abuse were in place. Risks associated with people’s needs were assessed and staff understood how to reduce these risks. People were supported with their medicines and staff recorded these accurately. Staff followed infection control procedures and knew how to respond in emergencies.
Staff were recruited safely and staff were supported with essential training and development to ensure their skills and knowledge were up to date.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were supported with maintaining their health and had access to health care professionals, such as GPs, when required. Care plans were personalised and people were encouraged to make choices. Staff got to know people well and understood their preferences.
Staff were respectful and caring towards people. They understood the importance of promoting equality and independence. People were supported to make complaints or contact the office to discuss concerns they had.
Staff felt supported by the management team. Quality assurance systems in the service were effective. The registered manager carried out checks to ensure staff were providing a good standard of care. They learned lessons when things had gone wrong to help make improvements to the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 4 April 2018) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.