30 September 2019
During a routine inspection
Mears Care Huntingdon is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living their own flats in the specialist ‘extra care’ housing scheme in Huntingdon town centre. 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. At the time of our inspection 11 people were receiving the regulated activity personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
People were protected from avoidable harm by a staff team trained and confident to recognise and report any concerns. Staff assessed and minimised any potential risks to people. Staff followed the provider’s procedures to prevent the spread of infection. The provider had systems in place to enable staff to safely manage people’s medicines.
The provider had systems in place to make sure they only employed staff once they had checked they were suitable to work with people who used the service. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs safely. People received care from staff who were trained and very well supported to meet people’s assessed needs.
Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and maintain a healthy weight. They worked well with external professionals to support people to keep well.
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 involved in making decisions about their care and support.
Staff worked well together. They knew the people they cared for well and understood, and met, their needs. Staff supported people in a gentle and compassionate way. Staff were respectful when they spoke with, and about, people. They supported people to develop or maintain their independence. Care was person-centred and met each person’s specific needs. People and their relatives were involved in their, or their family member's, care reviews.
People’s care plans provided staff with guidance on how to meet each person’s needs. People spoke positively about how staff helped them to maintain and or develop their interests and community links. With support from external healthcare professionals, staff supported people to receive end of life care in their own home.
People and their families felt able to raise concerns which the provider addressed. The provider had systems in place, including a complaints procedure, to deal with any concerns or complaints. The provider and registered manager promoted a culture that focused on people as individuals. The provider had put robust systems in place to effectively monitor the service and bring about further improvement. Staff worked in partnership with external professionals.
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was Good (published 29 April 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.