This inspection took place on 23, 24 and 27 November 2017 and was announced.This was the first comprehensive inspection carried out at Daisychain Homecare Services.
Daisychain Homecare Services provides care and support to people who wish to remain in their own homes. Services include personal care, meal preparation, hospital discharge and medication support. At the time of our inspection there were 84 people receiving personal care.
The service had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People's experiences of care were overwhelmingly positive. They told us they were supported by very kind, caring and compassionate staff that often went the extra mile to provide them with exceptional care. The staff were extremely passionate about providing people with support that was based on their individual needs, goals and aspirations. People's care was personalised so that each person's support reflected their preferences. We saw that people were at the centre of their care and found clear evidence that their care and support was planned with them and not for them. Each person was treated as an individual and as a result their care was tailored to meet their exact needs.
There was a strong culture within the service of treating people with dignity and respect. The staff and the registered manager were always available and listened to people and their relatives/friends, offered them choices and made them feel that they mattered.
People felt safe. Staff had been provided with safeguarding training to enable them to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and how to report them. There were risk management plans in place to protect and promote people’s safety. Staffing numbers were appropriate to keep people safe. There were safe recruitment practices in place and these were being followed to ensure staff employed were suitable for their role. People’s medicines were managed safely and in line with best practice guidelines.
Systems were in place to ensure that people were protected by the prevention and control of infection. There were arrangements in place for the service to make sure that action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service
People’s needs and choices were assessed and their care provided in line with best practice and met their diverse needs. There were sufficient numbers of staff, with the correct skill mix to support people with their care. Staff received an induction process when they first commenced work at the service and in addition also received on-going training to ensure they were able to provide care based on current practice when supporting people.
People received enough to eat and drink and staff gave support when required. People were supported by staff to use and access a wide variety of other services and social care professionals. The staff had a good knowledge of other services available to people and we saw these had been involved with supporting people using the service. People were supported to access health appointments when required, including opticians and doctors, to make sure they received continuing healthcare to meet their needs.
Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and they gained people's consent before providing personal care.
People were listened to, their views were acknowledged and acted upon and care and support was delivered in the way that people chose and preferred. Care plans were person centred and reflected how people’s needs were to be met. Records showed that people and their relatives were involved in the care planning process and the on-going reviews of their care. They were supported to take part in activities which they wanted to do, within the service and the local community. There was a complaints procedure in place to enable people to raise complaints about the service.
People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive improvement. Staff felt they were well trained and supported by the provider and the registered manager. Staff received one to one supervision which gave them an opportunity to share ideas, and exchange information about possible areas for improvements. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to report events that occurred within the service to CQC and external agencies.