Updated 10 October 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own home and in four supported living settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and we could speak with people. Inspection activity started on 17 September 2019 and ended on 17 September 2019. We visited the office location on 17 September 2019.
What we did before the inspection
Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service since the last inspection. This included information about deaths, accidents/incidents and safeguarding alerts which they are required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with five people, two relatives, five care staff, a senior carer, the deputy manager, support manager and the registered manager who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records, this included the records for five people being supported and records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with a professional who regularly visits the service.