Archived: Audley Care Ltd - Edgbaston

Updated 26 May 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 20 April 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice so we could ensure that care records and staff were available to help inform our inspection. The inspection was conducted by an 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.

As part of our inspection, we reviewed the information we already held about the provider, for example, the details that the provider shared with us when this service was registered. Providers are also required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur. We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We considered this information to help plan our inspection.

As part of our inspection, we spoke with one person using the service, one person’s relative, two staff members and the registered manager. We sampled two staff files, two people’s care plans and records maintained at the service about staffing and quality assurance.

Updated 26 May 2017

This inspection took place on 20 April 2017 and was announced. This was the service’s first inspection since it was registered in July 2016. Audley Care Ltd – Edgbaston is a domiciliary service and provides care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, there were two people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

There was a registered manager in place who was present throughout our inspection. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe using the service and risk assessments that were in place helped staff to keep people safe and mitigate their risks. Staff had received safeguarding training to help them to identify any concerns or suspicions of abuse to help protect people using the service.

People received calls from consistent carers at their preferred times and for the duration they had agreed. Recruitment checks were conducted appropriately to ensure that people were supported by staff who were suitable. People received some support to manage their medicines. Recording errors which had been identified through audits were addressed with staff to encourage improvement in this area, although audits were not always robust.

People were supported by staff who received ongoing training and guidance for their roles; feedback indicated general satisfaction with the care provided by staff. People were supported to make their own choices and to prepare and have meals as required. Records relating to these support areas were not clear and the registered manager told us that this would be promptly addressed so that people would consistently be supported in line with their needs. People were supported to seek further healthcare support as required to promote their health.

People were involved in their care planning and their independence was promoted. Care was taken to gather information about people’s interests and preferences. Most feedback indicated that people were treated with dignity and respect by staff.

People received support that met their needs and this was intended to be monitored and reviewed over the time they used the service. There was a complaints process in place should people and relatives wish to raise concerns, although aspects of the complaints policy required clarity.

The registered provider had systems and processes in place to support the safety and quality of the service. The registered manager had plans to develop and drive improvement at the service and was receptive to our inspection feedback. Staff we spoke with told us they felt supported in their roles and other feedback we received reflected overall satisfaction with the service.