Background to this inspection
Updated
10 September 2021
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 undertaken by one inspector
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.
The provider was also the manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 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.
Inspection activity started on 5 August 2021 and ended on 11 August 2021. We visited the office location on 11 August.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider who was also the registered manager, the manager, the deputy manager, senior care worker and carers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and three staff files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed a range of records relating the management of the service including policy and procedures in relation to management of complaints, staff supervision, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
10 September 2021
About the service
Harlestone Home care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 16 people receiving support.
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 and what we found
The systems in place to monitor and quality assure the service had not always been maintained. The provider had not consistently maintained the level of oversight required.
People felt safe and cared for by the staff who supported them and who knew them well. Staff knew how to keep people safe and ensured people received the care they required at the time they wanted.
People could be assured they were being cared for by staff who were recruited safely and who had the skills and knowledge to support them. Infection prevention and control measures were in place and staff knew how to administer medicines safely.
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.
The care people received was person-centered. People had been involved in planning their care and felt able to speak up if they had any concerns or wished to make changes to their care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 February 2020) and there was a breach of regulations. 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
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 28 November 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve receiving and acting on complaints.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Harlestone Home care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.