We carried out a review of the data available to us about Villa Care Agency on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Villa Care Agency, you can give feedback on this service.
Villa Care Agency is a domiciliary care service which is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. 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 inspection, 17 people were receiving a regulated service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Relatives told us they felt people were safe and staff knew how to identify and report concerns relating to people’s safety and well-being. Risks were assessed and managed to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. People received timely support by a consistent staff team. Systems used for the management of medicines were safe and people received their medicines as prescribed.
People’s needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure their care needs were met. Staff received training relevant to their role and felt supported by the management team. Staff sought people’s consent before providing care and decisions about people’s care and treatment were made in line with law and guidance. People received sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain their health. People were supported to access healthcare agencies when required.
People were supported by a caring and compassionate staff team. People were supported to maintain their independence and their dignity was valued and respected.
People’s care was responsive to their changing needs. People, and those close to them, were involving in the assessment and planning of their care. People knew how to raise a concern if they were unhappy about the service they received.
People, relatives and staff felt the service was well managed. The registered manager had made improvements since the last inspection. People, relatives and staff were given opportunities to share their views about the service. The registered manager carried out auditing to ensure the quality of care provided.
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.
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 (published 30 November 2016).
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.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of 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.
Villa Care Agency provides personal care to people who live in accommodation owned and managed by Villa Care Homes Ltd. Villa Care Homes Ltd provides supported living accommodation. At the time of our inspection, four people received personal care from Villa Care Agency.
People were supported by staff who knew how to keep people safe from potential harm or abuse.. There were sufficient numbers of trained staff that had the appropriate recruitment checks to ensure people received safe care. People’s medicines were managed safely.
People said staff had the skills to meet their individual needs. Staff felt supported in their role by the registered manager. People’s rights were protected as staff sought their consent before providing care. People had choices of what they ate and drank and were involved in the preparation of their meals. People were assisted where required to access healthcare professionals.
People thought staff were kind, caring and showed them respect. People said their dignity and privacy was respected. Staff understood people’s choices and supported their independence. People were involved in their care and were supported to maintain their interests and hobbies. People said they knew how to raise concerns and were confident issues would be addressed.
People felt the service was well managed. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. The provider had audit systems in place however these were not always effective. The provider had not submitted notifications to CQC as they are required to by law.
The person we visited told us they were: 'Well-looked after' by Villa Care Agency staff. The person did not differentiate between the personal care provided, which is the regulated activity inspected by us and the general support they received, which is not. We found that the person received a high level of overall support and care, a small part of which was funded as personal care by the local authority.
The person we visited told us they had consented to Villa Care Agency providing their personal care. We saw detailed care plans and records about the person's needs and preferences in relation to their care. We saw that there were enough care workers to provide the personal care the person needed through the week. The care workers had appropriate skills and qualifications. The person was given their medicine in a safe way. We saw that the provider had systems in place to ensure that the person who received personal care had their needs met to an appropriate standard.
Comments made by the provider and manager such as 'prompting', 'making sure', suggested that supported living may still be maintained by the service. The provider and registered manager told us that Villa Care Agency now provided personal care and support to only one of these people.
At this visit we did not get the opportunity to speak with the person who used the services of the agency. We spoke with social workers who used the services provided by the agency. They told us that they were monitoring the care and support their client received.
We spoke with the registered manager at the time of our visit to the office. The manager told us that they had appropriate training to ensure the person they cared for was safe. We saw that robust recruitment procedures had been followed.
We saw that systems were in place to monitor the quality of care that people had received.