Background to this inspection
Updated
15 December 2023
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was announced. We gave the service 72 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information we held about the service since the last inspection. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 7 relatives. We spoke with 8 staff, including the registered manager and care staff. We also spoke with a professional who works with the service. We reviewed 4 care records, 4 medicines records and 3 staff recruitment records. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
15 December 2023
About the service
Age UK-Wakefield District Home Support Services is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to older people and younger adults. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people using the service.
People’s experience of the service and what we found:
People were protected from the risk of abuse; people and relatives told us they felt safe. Risks posed to people were assessed. The service monitored accidents and incidents to enable them to learn lessons and mitigate future risks to people. People were supported by enough staff at the correct times. There had been no missed care calls and people told us staff were on time. Staff were recruited safely. People told us staff were kind and caring. Medicines were safely managed.
People’s care plans were individualised and the service promoted person centred care. This provided good outcomes, for example increasing people’s independence.
Staff felt supported in their roles. The registered manager completed staff supervisions and spot checks to ensure staff were competent. Team meetings provided staff with opportunities to raise concerns and make suggestions.
Governance systems and meetings ensured the provider had oversight of the service. The registered manager completed audits to monitor the quality and safety of the service. However, records audits were overdue and some records required signing. We have made a recommendation that the provider reviews their systems for auditing records.
People and relatives told us the service was well led. Feedback was sought from people and relatives and was used to improve the quality of care people received. Complaints and concerns were effectively managed.
Staff worked closely with external agencies to ensure people's health needs were met, this included district nurse teams, occupational therapists and social workers. The registered manager understood their roles under duty of candour and reported incidents to the relevant authorities where required.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
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 good (Published 23 March 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Age UK-Wakefield District Home Support Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Recommendations
We have made a recommendation the provider reviews their systems and processes for auditing records, to ensure records are reviewed, signed and up to date.
Follow Up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.