Background to this inspection
Updated
21 December 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 undertaken by one 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 homes.
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
We gave the service two days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 7 October 2019 and ended on 8 October 2019. This included visiting the office to speak with the registered manager, interviewing staff and reviewing care records and policies and procedures.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection as well as the last inspection report. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. 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 the registered manager, four care staff and visited four people in their own homes. The expert by experience spoke to a further nine people (or their relatives) who use the service by telephone. We looked at four people’s care records including their medicine records. We looked at training records for the staff team and we examined three staff members’ recruitment and supervision records. We viewed documents relating to the management of the service such as complaints and compliments, satisfaction surveys and quality audits.
Updated
21 December 2019
About the service
Audley Care Ltd provides care and support for people in their own homes living within the retirement village and people living within the local community. The registered office is situated in a retirement village in Maidstone. 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 this inspection the service was providing personal care to 32 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives said the service staff were exceptionally caring and there were many examples of the positive impact this had on people’s quality of life. People said they looked forward to staffs’ visits, and their company and cheerfulness made a difference to their days.
The provider’s vision of high quality, person-centred care that was inclusive and took account of people’s rights and wishes was carried through into staff practice. We received wholly positive feedback about the willingness and motivation of staff to support people with their choices and meet their expectations. As a result, people and relatives felt they were treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
Risks to people were safely managed; including those associated with medicines and infection. Staff knew how to raise any safeguarding concerns and people felt safe and secure with them. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and spend meaningful time with them and recruitment systems were designed to ensure only suitable staff were employed to work with people.
Staff were well-trained and qualified to carry out their roles. People were confident in staff knowledge and understanding of their needs and preferences. Staff were vigilant of changes in people’s health and escalated concerns appropriately to other professionals promptly when necessary.
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. Care planning was detailed and considered people’s personalities as well as their needs and conditions. People were involved in their care decisions and regular checks were made to make sure they were happy with everything. People knew how to complain if needs be, and the service had received many compliments from people and their relatives.
The registered manager and provider had created a culture where staff were regularly acknowledged and praised. Staff said they worked hard because they wanted to do their best for people first and foremost but were also pleased to be recognised for their efforts. Checks and audits were regularly carried out to make sure the service continued to provide a high-quality service. People’s views were sought in various ways and acted upon to make improvements.
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 on the 10 January 2017(Published 16 February 2017.)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.