Melton Care Services Limited

Updated 15 December 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by 2 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 houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 20 November 2023 and ended on 28 November 2023. We visited the location’s office on 27 November 2023.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people who used the service and 8 relatives, to gather their views and experience of the service. We spoke with the registered manager and 6 care staff. We also contacted 20 care staff by email for feedback and received 11 responses. We looked at aspects of care records for 8 people. We reviewed a range of documentation relating to the management of the service including training records, staff recruitment, quality assurance, policies and procedures.

Updated 15 December 2023

About the service

Melton Care Services Limited provides care to people living in their own homes. 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 our inspection, 119 people were receiving a service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not provide care or support to anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person.

Staff were recruited safely, however the provider needed to ensure they consistently followed their recruitment policy.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report any form of abuse.

Risks associated with people’s individual care needs, including the environment were assessed, planned for and monitored. Care staff were knowledgeable about known risks and actions required of them to keep people safe.

Written guidance for staff about people’s known health conditions and the impact on the person and their care was limited. However, staff were found to be knowledgeable about individual care and support needs, and the registered manager had plans in place to make improvements.

There were enough staff to meet people’s care needs. People received care from regular staff who they spoke highly of. Care calls were monitored to ensure calls were on time and staff provided care in accordance with people’s assessed needs.

Staff completed ongoing training and support; the registered manager agreed to increase the frequency staff received supervision meetings. Spot checks to review staff competency were completed.

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 with their prescribed medicines safely. Care records were monitored to ensure people received their medicines as required. Systems were in place to respond to accidents and incidents.

Infection prevention and control best practice guidance was followed. Staff wore personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of cross contamination and infection.

People who used the service and staff received opportunities to share their experience of the service.

The registered manager had systems and processes that assessed, monitored and reviewed the quality and safety of the service.

People spoke positively and complementary about the care and support they received. This included how caring and compassionate the staff were and the organisation, communication and responsiveness of the registered manager.

Rating at last inspection

The last rated inspection for this service was good (published 8 January 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Melton Care Services Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendation

We have made a recommendation about the provider's oversight and leadership practice.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.