Fordingbridge

Updated 2 July 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

The inspection was undertaken by an inspector, two assistant inspectors 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 28 April 2021 and ended on 7 May 2021. We visited the office location on 28 April 2021.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information and feedback 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 three people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also talked with eight members of staff including the nominated individual, registered manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. These included two people’s care and medication records, four staff files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and quality assurance records.

Updated 2 July 2021

About the service

Fordingbridge, otherwise known as Hearts at Home Care, is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone who uses the service receives personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

Seventeen people were receiving personal care from the service at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There were enough staff for people to have a mostly regular team of staff. People received a weekly rota to say which staff would be visiting when. In the past, staff recruitment checks had not always been rigorous. The service had since remedied most gaps in records, such as missing references. However, we have made a recommendation in relation to recruitment records.

People and relatives told us staff treated them or their family member kindly and respectfully, honouring their preferences and promoting their independence. People’s personal information was kept secure and staff understood the importance of this. We have made a recommendation about the management of confidential images.

Everyone we spoke with said they or their family member felt safe with care staff. Managers and staff understood their role in protecting people from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks to people and staff providing their care were assessed and managed. Although medicines were managed safely, the provider was seeking to improve oversight with a new computerised recording system.

Staff had training in infection prevention and control. People told us staff cleaned their hands. There was a good supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and staff wore this during visits.

People, relatives and staff talked about the service being family run. Staff and managers talked about people respectfully and compassionately. The registered manager and nominated individual were clear about their responsibilities. They maintained oversight by seeking people’s feedback, spot checks and audits, and regular supervision and informal conversations with staff.

The nominated individual and registered manager recognised the pandemic had adversely affected staff morale. There had been frequent changes in office staff and there were ongoing efforts to recruit suitable replacements. People, relatives and staff voiced that this had been unsettling and sometimes hindered communication. However, staff spoke positively about their work.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 8 January 2020).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staff recruitment. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. The provider had taken action to reduce the risks and this had been effective. Please see the safe section of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fordingbridge 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.