Haverhill Community Care

Updated 18 November 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 carried out by 1 inspector and 2 Experts 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 and specialist housing. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. This person was also the provider of the service. We have referred to them as ‘the provider’ throughout this report.

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 11 August 2023 and ended on 11 September 2023. We visited the location’s office on 11 August 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed our systems and information we held about the service. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with 9 people who used the service and 22 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also had contact with 23 members of staff including care staff, the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included care plans and a variety of other records relating to the management of the service were also considered as part of the inspection.

Updated 18 November 2023

About the service

Haverhill Community Care is a domiciliary care service providing care to 105 people 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.

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 assessments 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 care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

We found the provider to be outstandingly caring and well led.

Right Support:

The provider ensured any risks to people’s safety and welfare were assessed and mitigated effectively; medicines were managed safely, and independence promoted wherever possible. Audits in place were sufficiently robust to enable effective oversight of the service. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people lead empowered lives. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs, there were no missed care calls and people knew who to expect for their care. Managers continued to recruit staff safely.

People’s care met their needs and was flexible. One relative told us, “If we require some changes in call times, all I need to do is phone the office and they will sort it out for us.” Staff followed an appropriate induction programme, and training was on-going throughout employment and as needed. Care plans included information about support required in areas such as nutrition, mobility, and personal care to help inform care provision and to ensure person centred care. Staff made appropriate referrals to other agencies and professionals when required. 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.

Right Care:

Care was person-centred and respectful and promoted people's dignity and privacy. People received exceptionally kind and compassionate care. People told us they were well cared for, and one relative said, “I would highly recommend the company and regarding their level of performance, well I would give them ten out of ten… and I don’t give out 10 out of 10 lightly."

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People's care plans reflected their individual support needs, and this promoted and enhanced their wellbeing. Staff identified people's communication needs and addressed these.

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the provider and staff team. People received consistent care from staff who knew them well and who were responsive their individual needs.

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 May 2018)

Why we inspected

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

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