Trust Home Care Ltd

Updated 28 January 2020

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 team consisted of two 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 service.

Service and service type

Trust Home Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.

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.

We gave the service 48 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and 16 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager and the operational manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 28 January 2020

About the service

Trust Home Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to older adults and people with physical disabilities and complex health needs. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 73 people. 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

People were pleased with the quality of care and support they experienced. They told us they felt safe when support workers were providing support to them. Staff understood what it meant to protect people from abuse. They told us they were confident any concerns they raised would be taken seriously by the registered manager.

Safe procedures were in place to make sure people received their medicines as prescribed. There were enough staff available to ensure people’s care and support needs were met. The same support workers supported people most of the time. The provider recognized this was important to people. The provider had effective recruitment procedures in place to make sure staff had the required skills and were of suitable character and background. Staff received training which supported them to have the knowledge and skills to do their job well and effectively meet people’s needs.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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.

People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals to ensure they were getting the care and support they needed to best meet their needs. Positive and supportive relationships had been developed between people and staff. People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff were committed to promoting people’s independence. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and to access healthcare services when they needed.

People’s care and support was planned and delivered in a way that ensured it met their needs and reflected their preferences. The care records we looked at included risk assessments. They had been devised to help minimise and monitor the risks, while promoting the person’s independence as far as possible.

People knew how to complain and were confident the registered manager or other staff would resolve their complaint. People who used the service, relatives and staff could express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that gained the respect of staff and motivated them as a team.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed.

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 requires improvement (published 27 December 2018). 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 overall rating had improved to good.

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.